Family of Cheryl Sheldon hopes memorial bench will further her legacy for good

A community crowdfunding campaign to memorialize the life of Cheryl Sheldon culminated on Wednesday with the unveiling of a commemorative park bench named in her honour.

Located outside Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre on Elizabeth Street in London, the bench will ensure Sheldon's life is not forgotten by the community, said Fabienne Haller.

"We cannot forget women who have been murdered. It is important their names are not forgotten, that society realizes that any woman is valuable," said Haller, formerly with the London Abused Women's Centre (LAWC).

Heller spearheaded the crowdfunding campaign alongside Megan Walker, LAWC's former executive director, who is vice chair of the London Police Services Board.

"Cheryl's life was valuable. She contributed to society for 62 years, and to have a commemorative bench for her, is just a small way for us to acknowledge that."

Haller and Walker unveiled the bench on Wednesday during a ceremony attended by several city councillors, area provincial and federal politicians, police officials, and Sheldon's brother, Mark.

A plaque near the bench reads, in Mark's words, "there is a hole in my heart where you will dwell eternally."

"I've never seen this kind of outpouring before. It's wonderful," said Mark, who travelled to London from Quebec for the ceremony.

"At least they'll have a place to go, people who knew her… It's nice to know that if I'm up here, I have this. It's like a little connection to my sister."

Funds raised by the campaign, dubbed "Stand Against Femicide," also paid for a proper headstone for Sheldon, installed at her place of burial in her hometown of Fitch Bay, Que.

Through the bench and her memory, Mark said he hoped his sister's life would go on to help others. "That's what's important. For me, she always made a difference."

Just after midnight on June 22, police located Sheldon with life-threatening injuries in her Wharncliffe Road North apartment. She was rushed to hospital and was pronounced dead.

A 44-year-old man who friends and neighbours identified as her boyfriend, George Kenneth Curtis, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in her death. His case is scheduled to return to court on Tuesday.

Mark said he saw his sister in person last summer, but spoke with her frequently over the phone. He knew she had met a man, but didn't know much else about him. "That was never really much of a discussion," he said.