<strong>Brandi Fenton</strong> loved butterflies, said her father, Jon Fenton, on Wednesday at the site of a park memorializing his daughter, who was killed in an automobile crash three years ago.
Brandi Fenton was considered a jewel, and the county park memorializing the 13-year-old killed in a traffic crash more than three years ago is expected to be a jewel in the county park system.
On Wednesday, workers installed artistic tiles naming 76 Tucsonans who contributed money for the park’s construction.
The 57-acre park along the Rillito west of North Dodge Boulevard will include equestrian arenas, three soccer fields, two covered and lighted basketball courts, a water splash parry, covered picnic areas, a horseshoe pit and dog runs, said George Kuck, operations and maintenance manager for the Pima County Natural Resources Parks & Recreation department.
There also will be a memorial garden, which features a fountain canopied by a large metal butterfly, a hand-made “Tree of Life” paying tribute to southern Arizona organ donors and clay butterflies glazed by Brandi’s friends and imbedded in the concrete walkways throughout, Kuck said.
Some 400 people attended Brandi’s 2003 funeral, 40 to 50 of them children who called the Orange Grove Middle School pupil “my best friend.”
“That shows you there was something unusual about her,” her grandfather, retired Superior Court Judge Norman Fenton, said at the time.
“They talked about her laughter, her charm, her ability to make everybody laugh. She was a good listener, a good pal,” the retired judge said.
Brandi was killed when her 17-year-old cousin lost control of the car he was driving at La Paloma Country Club.
He and a front-seat passenger were injured, Brandi, riding in the back seat and the only one of the three not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the car, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Much of the money to build the park was collected by the Fenton family, Kuck said.
The park is scheduled to open Dec. 3.
“It’s going to be one of the jewels of our park system,” Kuck said. “It’s a beautiful park.”
Seventy-six artistic tiles, naming those who contributed money to the park, were installed Wednesday at the site of the park memorializing Brandi Fenton.
