Friends of Ben May, who died last week in his adopted Redmond, Wash., have erected an impromptu memorial to him at the city park where his body was found Saturday. Flowers, photos, candles and hand-written messages all have been offered in tribute to the 31-year-old Davidson native.

Bob Yoder, of the Redmond Neighborhood Blog, shared a collection of photos of the site in Redmond’s Perrigo Park. Mr. May had been missing for more than a week when his friends found his body Saturday, March 13, in thick underbrush in the park. He had taken his own life after suffering depression from some time.

Mr. Yoder took the photos Sunday. He said he expected the tribute to grow Monday, unless it’s removed by the city parks department.

On Redmond Neighborhood Blog, Mr. Yoder writes: Ben’s Memorial is on the Perrigo Park parking lot fence by a tree inside the park. Pictures, candles, flowers, a Peace Booklet, prayers & thoughts from loved ones, and colored pens are left for passersby to write a note or prayer.”

The Perrigo Park memorial joins an electronic memorial that friends, family and former co-workers have erected on the Facebook social networking site. As of Monday afternoon, that page had grown to hundreds of messages and 2,240 members since it was posted after Mr. May’s disappearance.

Read more about reaction to Mr. May’s death in our Sunday, March 14, news item, Friends and family mourn for Ben May.”

RELATED LINKS

March 16, 2010, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, “Redmond resident found dead at Perrigo Park”

March 16, 2010, PNWLocalNews.com, “Beloved Redmond resident found dead at Perrigo Park”

REDMOND MEMORIAL FOR BEN MAY
Here’s a gallery of photos. Reprinted with permission from Bob Yoder/Redmond Blog. Click on any image to launch the slideshow.