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58 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, June 7, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 25, 2004 Middle schoolers mourn fallen friend By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune ASHLAND — They released balloons with wishes of love, went on long walks, talked for hours with counselors, spelled her name with poppies in the school yard and cried many tears. Ashland Middle School students slowly absorbed the shock of classmate Tracy Dewey’s death in a fall Saturday from a steep, 100-foot wall at Fort Rock about 120 miles northeast of Medford. On the climb this weekend, Dewey, 13, and classmate Lily Bright hiked to the top of the dramatic, horseshoe-shaped feature. Halfway down the steep inside wall, Tracy fell to the bottom and was killed instantly, said her father, Paul Dewey of Ashland. "I heard her scream, and I knew it was Tracy, and I knew what had happened," said Paul Dewey, who was hiking atop the old volcanic feature at the time. Bright witnessed the fall and was trapped in the niche Tracy fell from for four hours before a search and rescue team from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office reached her. Ashland Middle schoolers got the news Monday morning as they arrived to school. Classes were suspended for a "free- flowing" day of grief and talking out feelings, said AMS child development specialist Jody Bradley. Advertisement "The kids found each other, hugged, cried and walked to the park and back," said Bradley. "Teachers were sitting on floors hugging crying students. It’s such a hugely traumatic experience. So many people knew her and are just devastated." At the family’s home, Paul Dewey, comforting Tracy’s older sister, Amy, described Tracy as someone "very outspoken, very funny, with an acute wit, who loved to write poetry in recent years." Amy goes to Ashland High. Tracy’s bedroom wall was covered with pictures of rock idols, a big butterfly and large silver stars. "She was always smiling and happy," said classmate Kyle Schless, who’d known her since third grade. "Today has been real hard. I couldn’t believe it." "She was bubbly, always happy and she made me feel good," said classmate Alison Wren, a close friend. "It’s been real hard. It doesn’t seem real." Cheyenne Peters, her best friend in grade school, said, "I cried forever — the most I’ve ever cried. She was so fun. We did all sorts of crazy stuff I never thought I’d do. She was the kind of person that, when things were really bad, she could make them good. She would light up a room with her smile." School nurse Belinda Brown sat with students for hours at the impromptu floral shrine outdoors, noting, "They’re handling it pretty well, given the traumatic nature of the event. I had 30 kids I worked with initially, all talking, crying and sharing other experiences of deaths of parents, siblings and grandparents — a significant number in the immediate families — and how scary it is." Tracy’s friend Hannah Grierson has been there before, but said Monday’s grief and loss was "surreal." "My father died three years ago and I’m kind of used to this but it’s still surreal, Hannah said. "We take so much for granted about the people we care for." "I just saw her at soccer two weeks ago — she was here and now not here. It’s just weird," said Dahna Black. "We’ve all been crying a lot." Especially needing support were kids who were in the usual cycle of teen spats and disagreements at the time of Dewey’s death — friends who might have felt inappropriate guilt or even responsibility for it, Brown said,. "She was very well liked," Brown said, "but no one can see this kind of thing coming (so as to have time to make amends)." "It’s been like a big shock," said classmate Naomi Salisbury, "I was talking with a friend who’d been in a bad relationship with her and it was really hard for her." Students inscribed a banner to be hung in the commons, and helium balloons were released into the sunny morning wind. On the banner, classmate Amanda Greenstein wrote, "Tracy, you were such an amazing person. Our time spent together now means so much to me. I hope you are in a better place." Wren wrote, "I cried a thousand tears for you and I’ll cry a thousand more. It will be you I’m looking for when I knock on heaven’s door. I miss you, babe, and I’m sorry I never finished your landscape of French braids." Strangely, said Wren, the two talked a few months ago about the best way to die if they could choose it and they both said it would be falling, because it was "most like flying." With classmate Gabriel Granach on guitar, they sang "Forever Young" and "Stairway to Heaven." They wrote cards to Tracy’s family and planned a plaque and the planting of a tree in her memory. "I never imagined a community could come together with such loving support, especially the kids," said Paul Dewey. "I’ve never seen anything like it. The search and rescue people were the same way." "She was a very positive person," said Principal Dale Rooklyn. "She was a very happy and sweet child. We’re all very shocked and distraught." In addition to her father and sister, Tracy is survived by her brother, Benjamin, and her mother, Petra Dewey, of New York City. There will be a memorial gathering Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. at her home at 2530 Siskiyou Blvd. John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times