Shiloh Elementary Students Walk to Remember Beloved Custodian

On Friday, March 15, Shiloh Elementary students held a relay Walk-a-Thon in honor of their custodian, Vickie Garmon, who passed away in February. Each grade walked laps around the field, dressed in red and white and receiving tallies for each lap they walked (see video). 

Garmon served the school for over two decades, according to second grade teacher Syllen Hill. She often worked for the children behind the scenes, and was the point person for the school's 2013 Relay for Life Walk-a-Thon before she was diagnosed with cancer. 

The lung cancer had spread to multiple points in her body by the time she got the diagnosis, and she passed away only two weeks later. 

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"I didn't really get it, until her passing, how huge [her role] was," said Shiloh Elementary principal Thomas Trippany during a remembrance ceremony on the school field, "not only to the kids and teachers but to the whole Shiloh community... She touched so many lives in her 20 plus years here. She was a great mom, grandma, and did so much for our school outside of the custodial field."

According to Trippany, she sponsored pre-K students and did many things behind the scenes that no one knew about "just because she cared." The school planted a tree in her honor and will hang a hummingbird feeder on it once it's strong enough. Hummingbirds, according to Trippany, were one of her favorites.

He honored Garmon's daughter, Crystal, and grandson, Robert Hartfree, with a plaque and scrapbook.

"There's no words to describe this," said Crystal after the service. She and Robert lived with Ms. Garmon for the past few years and cared for her when she was sick. Before that, Crystal cared for her grandmother until she passed away.

"I just feel really blessed that they did this," said Robert, 14. "They put all this effort into doing this, and for a little elementary school like this they really have a huge heart for my Nana."