After my father’s passing, many donations were made in his name to my high school Alma Mater, Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart. These donations filled my heart with love and led to the question, “How should I use these funds to illustrate my father’s love for Stuart?”
I wanted my father to be remembered and celebrated on the grounds of Stuart. I needed the present and the future Stuart to know of this amazing man as well and how much he bled Stuart green beginning in 1988 and never stopped.
One of the most beautiful things about Stuart is its grounds and how nature was welcome inside the classrooms. Rocks were all over the school’s grounds, INSIDE and out. They became the backdrop of pretend play during Gouter but also became our indoor seats during story time. There, something clicked.
Rick needed to be in a rock. The rocks at Stuart will never move from the grounds, and now, neither will my father. Of course, the first idea that came to mind was to put a plaque on a rock, but I needed something more permanent for this amazing man, I needed the rock engraved. I didn’t want him to be added to the rock, but rather become part of the very core of the rock. To become a part of the grounds. We then picked a rock on the Upper School field hockey field where my father spent hundreds of afternoons cheering me on.
There, my father would now always be present and always be proud of Stuart, its students, its parents, and its friends.
My greatest thanks goes out to all of you who donated to Stuart in honor or my father. Thank you to Patty Fagin, Beth Crutcher, and Alicia Fuscione Walker for taking my idea and making it a reality. Thank you Stuart Country Day School for sharing your love and compassion with the Salmastrelli family, we will forever be grateful.
Thanks to Brandon Detherage, please enjoy a sampling of pictures below.
