THUNDER BAY – Tristan Webb loved hockey, loved the outdoors.
It’s those happy thoughts his mother Natasha Nault held close to her heart on Wednesday, as she helped a group of children plant a weeping willow in the nine-year-old’s memory at the Ogden-East Simpson Community Garden.
The ceremony came 13 months after her son died suddenly, the tree a lasting legacy to preserve his memory at a place where he loved to spend time with his family.
“He loved to be active and he was crazy fun,” Nault said, pausing to wipe away a flow of tears.
“He loved to climb and have adventures and be in the country. He was a little boy.”
Surrounded by her family and friends, Nault said she’s happy that Tristan’s tree, which includes a stone at its base with the youngster’s named painted in bright blue letters, will be such an integral part of the garden, a labour of love for so many in the nearby neighbourhood for the better part of a decade.
“It means so much,” she said.
“We live down the street and we already came to the garden.”
Linda Bruins, executive director of Evergreen, A United Neighbourhood, helped organize the planting ceremony.
She said she knew Tristan, a regular at the community centre, since he was just a tot and wanted to do something to honour his memory in conjunction with a victim’s walk held each year to honour those who were victimized over the years at the former Hell’s Angels clubhouse her group now calls home.
“He was a lovely young boy and his life ended too soon. We’re still reeling. It’s a tragic thing, but we’re all still here to support the family and I hope the tree brings them some comfort,” Bruins said.
“I think when something happens to someone in our community, we need to be there for each other. I think that’s hugely important. Because we’re all going to have hard days and hard times, and that’s really what Evergreen is all about, having that extra support, even if you have family and friends, you still have bad days and you need someone else to lean on.”
Tristan, who died on April 12, 2018, was also survived by his father Jason and siblings Briana, Charlie, Brooklyn and Olivia.
