A memorial event is being held for Jennifer Boczylo on August 4, 2017.
Quinte West is coming together this week to remember a young local woman who was murdered along the Trent River waterfront 15 years ago.
To help keep Jennifer Boczylo’s memory alive and to assist in promoting awareness about the impact of violence on victims of crimes, her mother Charlotte Irvine, father John Boczylo, and siblings Heather and Justin Boczylo, are inviting the public to attend a memorial event being held on Friday, August 4 in Fraser Park.
“This year marks 15 years since Jennifer’s life was taken from us. Please help us celebrate the beautiful young woman that she was and show everyone we will never forget her,” remarked her mother Charlotte.
Following the death of the Quinte West woman in 2002, funds were raised by Duncan Armstrong and Pat Clark who organized a rock concert to help offset funeral costs and because of their prior involvement, both Armstrong and Clark have been approached by the Boczylo family to organize the memorial event. With the support of the DBIA, they arranged to dedicate the August 4, Friday evening Concert in the Park performance by El Camino in Jennifer’s memory.
Tom Kotsovos, owner of Tomasso’s Italian Grille who used to coach Jennifer in soccer, along with sons Michael, Andrew and Mark have graciously donated pizza for the event. Any donations collected during the evening will be directed towards Victims Services, the provincial agency which helped the Boczylo family throughout the days, months and years following the tragedy.
“It is our mandate to provide one-to-one confidential assistance to victims in times of crisis as a result of a criminal act or traumatic circumstance, regardless of severity,” stated Lisa Warriner from Victim Services. “Any fundraising dollars raised will be utilized to assist in supporting victims of crime through our Mobile Tracking Program which is entirely funded through local donations and is an important safety tool for high risk domestic violence victims who are at risk of domestic homicide/assault.
“We want to pay it forward to those who helped our family during that very trying time and this gesture is one way of saying thank you”, said Heather Boczylo.
During the concert, a display about Jennifer will be on site along with information about the role of Victims Services. Green ribbons will be handed out to those in attendance since green was Jennifer’s favorite colour and attendees are encouraged to wear green to the event.
Following the concert, which runs from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., the family is inviting the public to join them in a vigil walk along the waterfront to Jennifer’s memorial bench which is located along the Trent River shoreline behind the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce. A brief sunset service will be held following the walk with Gail Conrick assisting with the sunset service.
“As her memory lives on in our hearts, we would like everyone to join us as we celebrate and remember Jennifer,” added her mother.
A Facebook event called Jennifer Boczylo: Never Forgotten has been created and can be found by clicking here.
