Living Memorial Planned for Dr. Debra Kelley
Issue date: 10/28/09 Section: News
By Max Duchaine
Rotunda Reporter
A university press release recently announced the plan to construct a living memorial for the late Longwood professor Dr. Debra S. Kelley is being set into motion. The announcement came three days after services were held at Farmville United Methodist Church to remember the lives of both Kelley and her daughter, 16-year-old Emma Niederbrock.
Kelley and her daughter, along with estranged husband Mark Niederbrock and her daughter's friend 18-year-old Melanie Wells, were brutally murdered in their home on First Ave. in September. Emma's boyfriend, 20-year-old Richard Samuel Alden McCroskey III, remains the lone suspect in the quadruple homicide that rocked the town several weeks ago.
According to the press release, the memorial will be in the form of a planted tree with an accompanying bench, much similar to several existing memorials in memory of members of the Longwood family who have passed. Associate Vice President for Marketing & Communication Dennis Sercombe believes that honoring Dr. Kelley is the main purpose of the memorial. "I think [the memorial] will help honor her and it will make people feel a little bit better than they have been feeling about the incident," he said.
Funding for the memorial is being orchestrated by the Lambda Kappa Alpha chapter of Lambda Alpha Epsilon (LAE), the national criminal justice fraternity. Longwood Chapter President Chrissy Ferguson explained Kelley's ties to LAE. "Dr. Kelley was our former advisor for LAE and established our chapter in the 1990s," said Ferguson. "She was also an academic adviser and professor for many of the members of our organization."
In order to establish the necessary funds for the project, LAE has set up a fund through the Longwood University Foundation and is planning to use other methods to raise money as well. "We plan to possibly set up a table in front of D-Hall collecting loose change to contribute with our own donation," said Ferguson. LAE is not alone in the fundraising efforts. "Many organizations other than LAE have been raising money as well, such as the sociology club."
Rotunda Reporter
A university press release recently announced the plan to construct a living memorial for the late Longwood professor Dr. Debra S. Kelley is being set into motion. The announcement came three days after services were held at Farmville United Methodist Church to remember the lives of both Kelley and her daughter, 16-year-old Emma Niederbrock.
Kelley and her daughter, along with estranged husband Mark Niederbrock and her daughter's friend 18-year-old Melanie Wells, were brutally murdered in their home on First Ave. in September. Emma's boyfriend, 20-year-old Richard Samuel Alden McCroskey III, remains the lone suspect in the quadruple homicide that rocked the town several weeks ago.
According to the press release, the memorial will be in the form of a planted tree with an accompanying bench, much similar to several existing memorials in memory of members of the Longwood family who have passed. Associate Vice President for Marketing & Communication Dennis Sercombe believes that honoring Dr. Kelley is the main purpose of the memorial. "I think [the memorial] will help honor her and it will make people feel a little bit better than they have been feeling about the incident," he said.
Funding for the memorial is being orchestrated by the Lambda Kappa Alpha chapter of Lambda Alpha Epsilon (LAE), the national criminal justice fraternity. Longwood Chapter President Chrissy Ferguson explained Kelley's ties to LAE. "Dr. Kelley was our former advisor for LAE and established our chapter in the 1990s," said Ferguson. "She was also an academic adviser and professor for many of the members of our organization."
In order to establish the necessary funds for the project, LAE has set up a fund through the Longwood University Foundation and is planning to use other methods to raise money as well. "We plan to possibly set up a table in front of D-Hall collecting loose change to contribute with our own donation," said Ferguson. LAE is not alone in the fundraising efforts. "Many organizations other than LAE have been raising money as well, such as the sociology club."
Be the first to comment on this story