On the edge of a new memorial garden on Paradise Row in Saint John are three hearts, crafted with white rocks. They represent the three people who died in tent encampment fires this winter: Raeanne Tyler, 33; Jonathan Calhoun, 34; and Evan McArthur, 44. Winston Tyler, Raeanne’s father, decided the place where his daughter lost her life should be a place where new life can grow — in the form of a garden.
“After I cleaned up on April 20th, we had a big cleanup here in the city, and I was down here looking at the site and something told me that’d be a great place to build a garden. I think she said, ‘Dad,’” he said in an interview Friday. View image in full screen Three hearts represent the three people who perished in encampment fires this winter.
Nathalie Sturgeon / Global News He remembers his daughter — also a mother of three daughters — as a vibrant person, one with a sunshine-like personality. Story continues below advertisement “She was a friend to everybody. Building this and having everything going on, I found out how many friends she had.
Rae was very special,” Tyler said. “She was a beautiful woman.” The reason she was living rough is complicated, he said, and she was suffering through mental health issues.
Tyler tried to help her in every way he could. “Her mental disorders evolved even more and she went to a dark place,” he said. “She was fighting it for a while.
She was doing drugs for a while to keep awake.” The email you need for.
