NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Families, public officials and community members gathered Thursday for the 22nd annual Tennessee Season to Remember, a ceremony to honor and remember victims of homicide during the holiday season.
The event took place at First Baptist Church in downtown Nashville and families from across Tennessee hung ornaments on memorial wreaths to honor those they lost. Those ornaments will later be displayed in the Tennessee State Capitol throughout the holiday season.
Several public officials spoke, including former first lady Andrea Conte and John DeBerry, senior advisor for Governor Bill Lee. Pastor This year's keynote speaker was Tennessee Highway Patrol Lieutenant Angelia Jeffers-Smith, who entered into law enforcement after her sister Sandy Jeffers was violently killed in 2003.
Jeffers-Smith said her sister had completed a degree at Middle Tennessee State University and was expected to graduate with a degree in philanthropic anthropology from the University of Tennessee. Smith remembered her sister as sweet, kind full of life. She added that she hoped families left with the message that even though wounds never heal, there are ways to keep the memories of loved ones alive.
"There's just a grief and a pain that's unspeakable that we've shared," Jeffers-Smith said. "So when you've been with others who's been through that there's such a connection — even without knowing them."
Sandy was the heart of her family, Jeffers-Smith said, so she left a gheart-shaped ornament on one of the memorial wreaths.
The Tennessee State Capitol was also lit in purple to honor homicide victims.
