The Community of Lyle Mourns the Loss of Matthew Petty
In the spring of 2014 the community of Lyle lost a wonderful young citizen that we were privileged to get to know at the Lyle Activity Center. The OLESS board hired Matthew to be the caretaker of the green-space. We were amazed at Matthew's reliability and sense of ownership. He took the initiative to make improvements and never hesitated to do something that he saw needed to be done.
Matthew earned the respect of every OLESS volunteer who had any interaction with this ever cheerful, polite, hardworking young person. The OLESS board has planted an evergreen tree and a bush in the green-space near the picnic pavilion as a memorial to Matthew. He still lives in our hearts! A Matthew Petty Scholarship Fund has been set-up by his family to award $1000 scholarships to local high school seniors who want to pursue hands-on careers as mechanics, welders, chefs, carpenters, nurses or artists. Donations to the fund may be made through Riverside Community Bank in White Salmon. |