Memorial service celebrates life of Lindsey Bonistall
Memorial service celebrates life of Lindsey Bonistall
About 150 people gathered under the trees in The Grove on a beautiful spring day to remember Lindsey Bonistall, the 20-year-old English/journalism student whose life ended tragically May 1, 2005, when she was murdered in her off-campus apartment.
“We have gathered today to celebrate Lindsey Bonistall’s life and to honor her memory on the first anniversary of her death,” UD President David P. Roselle said as he opened the memorial service.
Several feet away from The Grove, a wooded area south of Alison Hall West, stood a tall pink dogwood sapling, filled with new blossoms, which was planted in Ms. Bonistall’s memory. Beside it, a plaque read: “Lindsey Marie Bonistall, March 20, 1985-May 1, 2005. May she be remembered with peace and love.”
“It is important that we remember Lindsey for her hard work, her affectionate nature and her desire to bring peace to the lives of others,” Roselle said, adding that the dogwood was planted along a walkway between Memorial Hall, home of the Department of English, and Perkins Student Center, home of the student newspaper The Review. “It is a path that Lindsey would have often walked. The dogwood will bloom every year on May Day so that as we welcome the spring, we will welcome Lindsey’s spirit into our hearts.”
Monsignor Michael Szupper, then director of the Saint Thomas More Oratory and Catholic Campus Ministry, led the gathering in a prayer, recalling Ms. Bonistall’s vibrant spirit. “She tried to catch the world with an embrace and grateful heart,” he said.
Ben Yagoda, professor of English and Ms. Bonistall’s teacher, thanked the Bonistall family and friends for creating PEACE OUTside Campus, a foundation dedicated to promoting safe living environments in off-campus student communities. Yagoda also introduced the recipient of the Lindsey Marie Bonistall Memorial Scholarship, Emily Picillo, AS ’07, city editor for The Review. The University created the scholarship to be awarded annually to an outstanding senior student of journalism.