‘Miss Jillian’s Tree’: Edgehill community holds dedication ceremony in honor of Belmont University student who was shot and killed
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – In William Edmondson Park in Nashville, you’ll find plenty of trees, but there’s one in particular with a special purpose.
“Historically in cemeteries, trees have been, for generations, used as memorial markers,” explained Mark Schlicher, the vice president of Friends of the William Edmondson Homesite Park & Gardens. “It’s a long-lasting tree. It’s majestic and it has symbolic value.”
While the park is far from a cemetery, the feeling you get when you walk around the William Edmondson Park & Garden is one you cannot quite shake.
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“There are certain species that are used quite often and bolt cypress is one of them, so when we were trying to decide what would be an appropriate tree to honor Jillian with, that just came up in our research,” said Schlicher.
It’s one tree unlike any other in the park, and it’s named after a person who was unlike any other.
“Create a living legacy to Jillian,” Schlicher described.
Jillian Ludwig was a freshman at Belmont University when she was shot and killed by a stray bullet. At the time, she was walking in the very park that will now hold her tree.
“After that bullet hit Miss Jillian, it was like an outcry from the community. The community residents actually helped the police locate the person that did it,” said Brenda Morrow, president of Friends of the William Edmondson Homesite Park & Gardens. “Residents wanted to do something and the best thing I thought would be a community blessing, a blessing walk.”
Jillian’s life is not the only one honored in the park. Just around the corner, there is a tree in memory of Edgehill residents who lost their lives to gun violence, and then a little further, you can find another tree in honor of all six victims of the Covenant School shooting.
“We were stunned and just gutted by it, so it wasn’t long before we started having conversations about how do we appropriately honor Jillian,” Schlicher said, as he described the question many in the community asked themselves.
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The trees bring new life to the community.
“There needed to be a reclaiming of that space; there needed to be a blessing; there needed to be a way for people to understand that this is still a safe place,” explained Morrow. “When Miss Jillian got shot up there, it just broke my heart. It broke the community’s heart because we’ve been working since 2018 to make that park a safe and beautiful space.”
In front of Jillian’s tree will be a plaque, set to be unveiled on Saturday, April 13, during a dedication ceremony. The goal is that as the tree grows, her memory will continue spreading for years to come.
“These people will always be remembered. You know, years and years from now when that tree grows up and be a big baby, people will come through and say, ‘That’s Miss Jillian’s tree.’ I love it; I love it,” Morrow smiled.
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The tree dedication will take place Saturday at 11 a.m. sharp, followed by the group “blessing” walk.
It will be held at the William Edmondson Homesite Park & Gardens, located at 1400 14th Ave. South in Nashville, at the corner of 14th Avenue South and DeFord Bailey Avenue, across from Watson Grove Baptist Church. The ceremony will be at the large picnic pavilion on the north end of the park next to the playground.
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