We are closing in on an anniversary none of us wanted to have. Our dear friend, Mel Lester, passed away on March 18th, 2025. He was like a brother to me and many others. Some of us felt that it would be nice to memorialize him in the neighborhood he loved so much, to celebrate his life, as well as to have a physical space that we can go to remember him.

The Home of Peace Cemetery is right across the street from Mel's house on Fairfax. We've spoken with the board of the cemetery, and they are very supportive of adding a bench to memorialize Mel near their community tulip bed.

Whether you want to use the bench to meditate, leave flowers, or just to sit with him again, I think we could all benefit a lot from its existence. We could all use a place to be with him again, and remember that we don't have to be any kind of way to be here.