Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

The entire eighth-grade class of Fisher Middle School gathered on June 9 to dedicate a memorial grove.

Students dedicate grove as memorial to Pecklers

Area was eighth-grade class gift

By Michelle Alaimo

When Fisher Middle School's eighth-grade class was trying to decide what their gift to the school should be, they thought of a 1996 graduate--Jeff Peckler.

The school and the community are still grieving over the loss of three members of the popular Los Gatos family last January. On a ski trip to Lake Tahoe, Jim Peckler, 52, an active community volunteer, and two of his children, Jeff, 15, and Jill, 21, were killed when a pickup truck spun out of control and collided with the Pecklers' vehicle.

Both Jeff and Jill were alumni of Fisher, and their father was active as a school volunteer.

The students came up with the idea of a memorial grove to pay tribute to the family. The school already had a tree with a memorial plaque for Adam Brown. Brown was a 1989 Fisher graduate who died of cancer in 1994. So the class decided that the front of the school, where overgrown ivy was planted, would be the ideal location for a grove.

The ivy was torn out and replaced with trees, plants, bark, sod and a newly laid walkway, where benches will be placed within the next week. A plaque will be placed in the garden near the front entrance and will read, "Dedicated in memory of Jeff Peckler, Class of '96; Jill Peckler, Class of '89; Jim Peckler, devoted dad and volunteer." Another plaque that says "Fisher Middle School Memorial Grove" will also be placed in the garden.

The school staged a dedication ceremony on June 9 with Judy Peckler and her two daughters, Jana and Jennifer, in attendance. Judy Peckler was overcome with emotion when shown the plaque after the ceremony.

The previous eighth-grade class--Jeff's graduating class--had planned to build an entrance to the school, but the plans fell through. Joel Key, former class president, said it was then decided to donate the $3,000 to this year's class for use on its class gift.

This year's graduating class gave $4,000 toward the project, and the student council also donated money for the trees. Total cost of the project was estimated at $10,000, according to John Lux, president of the Dads' Club, a volunteer group of dads and moms who work to help Fisher Middle School in a variety of ways.

The project was "really a labor-intensive process," Lux said. "It really gave a chance for the adults and students to work together on this."

The memorial garden is a beautifully landscaped area, notably different from the overgrown ivy it replaced. Principal Cullen Hewitt remarked that the garden is "gorgeous."

Students and parents worked together for about six weekends on the project. Lux, who coordinated volunteers, said turnout was tremendous. Besides parent volunteers, a lot of eighth-grade students and three or four freshman from Los Gatos High School helped on the weekends, Key said.

A member of the Dads' Club contacted Campo di Bocci owner Tom Albanese, whose other business is Central Concrete, about ordering concrete for the project. "When he found out it was in memory of the Peckler family, he donated all of the concrete at no cost because of his high regard for the family and the trying circumstances they were going through," Hewitt said.

The entire eighth-grade class attended the dedication. The students looked proud and somber at the same time. "I feel really proud since we did it," Heather Cisowski, current student body president, said. "I know that Jeff would be really proud, too."

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