On Monday, the Perry Community School District honored the life of sixth grader Ahmir Jolliff with a special tribute at Wiese Park.

The school district worked alongside the City of Perry to build a bench and plant a tree in memory of Jolliff. Middle School Principal Ned Menke addressed a large audience to speak about how incredible Jolliff was and that he was proud to be his principal for a while. 

Then, Sixth Grade Science Teacher Angie Beaudet and Advisor Jordan Kovac shared that they were able to have Jolliff in their classrooms, and were happy to see the amount of joy he brought to others. Kovac added that he especially loved Poptarts. Menke then took a moment to read notes from Jolliff’s classmates about their favorite memory. He says Jolliff’s ability to light up a room was a personal highlight for him.

“It’s going to be his smile and the way he treated his classmates. Sometimes it’s cliche to say that he was a good friend, but he really was a good friend. He was just a nice person and he was nice to the person that he knew from several years and he was nice to that brand new student in school as well. From my perspective as a principal, that’s what you’re wanting in your students is somebody to be a nice, kind person for others, and that was 100 percent was Ahmir.”

Menke was glad to see the load of support with the people who came out to the dedication. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that the school district chose Wiese Park because of Jolliff’s love for soccer and also that it is a highly trafficked area, where most people will be able to visibly see the bench and hopefully stop by to remember him.