PORT TOWNSEND — On Nov. 2, 2002, a Vietnam veteran named Stephen Gurbal died of exposure in Kah Tai Lagoon park.
He was 53 years old.
At 11 a.m. Tuesday, residents of the city Gurbal loved and returned to again and again will gather in the park to dedicate a bench in his memory.
“It’s partly a memorial to say, ‘We will not forget,”‘ said Forest Shomer.
Shomer, who shepherded the project, was attending meetings about the future of Kah Tai Lagoon when Gurbal’s body, clothed only in jeans and a T-shirt, was discovered lying under a tarp next to the park’s picnic shelter after a particularly cold night.
“It hit my conscience, that in the midst of our negotiations, somebody died,” Shomer said. “It seemed inappropriate to go on to the next agenda item.”
Shomer said the group’s first idea was to name a trail after Gurbal, then someone suggested planting a tree. Finally, members settled on putting a bench near the spot where Gurbal died.
Shomer took up a collection and contacted the city parks department. Jim Guthrie’s shop class at Port Townsend High School built the bench using a simple design by environmentalist Aldo Leopold and materials provided by the parks department.
“I thought it was great opportunity for the students to work on something that was going to be part of the city,” Guthrie said. “A number of kids worked on it, but certainly Chris Hightower, Ryan Smith, Alan Jorgensen and Jesse Thomas took the lead.”
