PLANTING HOMAGE

Retired teachers and family members gather to plant tree in memory of former teacher Lillie Wilson

Former Painesville Schools special needs teacher Lillie Wilson left a lasting impression on many through her life and tenure as an educator.

So on May 12, her former coworkers were joined by Wilson’s family to plant a flowering dogwood tree in her memory.

Wilson began teaching at Painesville’s Lathrop Elementary School in 1971, where she taught special needs students for over 30 years.

While the school building has since been demolished, the site was converted to Lathrop Park, located at 61 Roosevelt Drive, which is now the home of Wilson’s memorial tree.

Spearheaded by the “Lathrop Lunch Bunch,” a group of retired teachers from the school who meet for monthly lunches, the idea of a memorial began circulating not long after Wilson died in 2020.

Judy Grant, a retired principal from Lathrop

“She was an extraordinary person... We sat around this group just chatting and feeling absolutely horrible that we had lost her — and we thought, what can we do?” — Judy Grant, former colleague of Lillie Wilson

who worked with Wilson for many years, said the group wanted to get something as a tribute to their friend since she had left such a positive impact on not only her students, but other teachers and many members of her church as well.

“She was an extraordinary person,” Grant said of Wilson, “And I think that was the basis for all of it. We sat around this group just chatting and feeling absolutely horrible that we had lost her — and we thought, what can we do?”

Grant said she started reaching out to Painesville city park officials to see if they could potentially plant a tree in Wilson’s honor at the site where she taught for so many years — and the city was receptive to the plan.

Grant and former Lathrop kindergarten teacher

Patty Wilcoxon explained that the group chose a dogwood tree for its eye-catching white blossoms that will arrive every spring as the young tree grows.

“It will spread its beauty,” Wilcoxon said.

Wilson’s family and friends went around after the tree was planted and shared their favorite memories of her life, frequently hailing her as an “inspiration,” and an excellent cook.

Cheriese Quigley, Wilson’s daughter, recalled that even after her mother retired from teaching around 2007, she never truly stopped helping children learn, which was her passion.

Wilson continued to tutor in her spare time and help lead a youth group at her church with the same devotion she had for the children that had been in her classroom.

“She never called them ‘my students,’” Quigley said, “They were always ‘my kids.’”

PHOTOS BY SHEENA HOLLAND DOLAN — THE NEWS-HERALD Attendees help cover Lillie Wilson’s memorial tree with extra soil. The young dogwood tree was chosen because it will blossom every spring in her honor, and was planted in Lathrop Park near to where Wilson’s classroom once was before Lathrop Elementary was demolished.

Judy Grant, former principal of Lathrop Elementary School, shows the plaque for Lillie Wilson.