(Perry, IA) — In the heart of Perry’s Wiese Park, along the trail that winds through it, now sits a bench and a young oak tree. They honor Ahmir Jolliff, an 11-year-old student killed in a school shooting in January 2024.
At a dedication ceremony Monday, Perry Middle School Principal Ned Menke remembered Ahmir.
"Whether you knew him for years or just a moment, you felt his kindness," Menke said. "He was, in every sense, a true friend to his classmates and everyone that knew him."
Keeping with that theme, the bench reads, "You've got a friend in me." Perry sixth-grade teacher Jordan Kovac said that’s how Ahmir lived his life.
"If he noticed that someone was sitting by themselves or off on their own, he would go over and ask them to join him and his friends in the activity they were doing," Kovac said. "That’s why this buddy bench is the perfect thing for us to have as a community."
Jolliff was also a member of the school's band and the only student who played the tuba. One student shared a memory of him at Monday’s ceremony.
"One time, he put a pencil into his tuba in an attempt to blow it out," Menke said, reading the student's words. "It didn't work, but it did not deter him. The band teacher was not very happy about it. He then put an eraser into the tuba to try to blow that out since the pencil did not work. That one did not work either."
Menke added that Jolliff’s legacy would live on long after the ceremony.