Jamie Goudreau, Marcie Robertson, Abby & Katie Burns install memorial benchVALDEZ – During the three years Bill Bryson battled cancer, he and his wife Barbara made many scheduled visits to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. While they were there one of their favorite places to go was a small lake near the center of town. Barb said that as they traversed around the lake, they found many benches to sit on dedicated to the memory of loved ones.
After Bill’s passing, Barb and her son Bill and daughter Katie decided they wanted to donate a memory bench to Valdez in honor of Bill, and in memory of any loved ones from our little town of Valdez who had gone before.
Barb Bryson & Granddaughter AbbyRydor McCune was commissioned to use his chainsaw to craft a bench commemorating the things Bill loved. The finished product is a bench featuring a wooden likeness of Bill’s golden retriever Rudy and a day pack carved out of wood.
Marcie Robertson, Jamie Goudreau and the City of Valdez Park Maintenance staff found a sweet little place on the Robe River which dovetails nicely with the cemetery extension, to put the bench. Barb would like people living in Valdez to know about the bench and hopes that many will find time to bike or drive out to enjoy the mountain view, the river and memories of special loved ones in their lives.