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Featured Photo: Josh and Tangie Justice, parents of Skyla Justice, enjoy a new bench dedicated in honor of their beloved daughter, Skyla Justice, at Blue Ridge Community College on April 25, 2025. (Photo by: Benjamin Rickert. View the full gallery on Facebook.)
By: Benjamin Rickert, Marketing & Communications Dept.
Just outside of Blue Ridge Community College’s greenhouses in Henderson County, a new bench rests in a small park-like area surrounded by lush foliage and a tree draped with blooming flowers. A stone water-filled basin and a brick-lined path provide a place of reflection, and most importantly, remembrance of a former student known for her kindness and joy for living things. The new bench bears a metal plaque which reads “In memory of Skyla Justice,” followed by “Beloved Student.”
Skyla Justice, daughter of Josh and Tangie Justice and a 2017 alumnus of North Henderson High School, passed away unexpectedly in September, and now her friends, family, and the College community have another way to honor her memory. The group gathered on Friday, April 25, 2025, to dedicate the new bench to Skyla during an outdoor ceremony. The event featured remarks from her father, as well as Kirsten Bunch, Blue Ridge’s vice president for student services.
Mr. Justice opened with a personal story imagining Skyla as a parent to a beautiful child.
“Skyla was incredibly fond of the name Agatha and told me numerous times that if she ever had a little girl, she’d name her Agatha and call her Aggie,” he said. “Although Skyla would never say it herself, she was quite good with children, and she would have been a great mother.”
Mr. Justice said that losing Skyla had changed his perspective and helped him see “a much larger story” than his own – one in which “we are so fragile.”
“We don’t always have control of what the future holds, but we can certainly do what we can in the present to impact our life story and ensure that we will be remembered for something,” he said. “It is for this reason that I want to truly express my gratitude to all the folks who made it possible to install the memorial bench for Skyla. I know it means the world, not only to me, but to the rest of her family and friends.”
The welcoming bench and vicinity were made possible by the efforts of the College’s facilities and grounds teams, as well as members of the General Administration and Student Services departments.
In her remarks, Vice President Bunch shared that Skyla “was a committed member of our College’s Horticulture Club, and twice she was named to the Dean’s List – in Fall of 2023 and Spring of 2024.”
Beyond academics, Bunch said, it was Skyla’s warmth and kindness that touched those around her.
“Her spirit uplifted others, and though she is deeply missed, the memories she left with us – as well as her passion for life and nature – continue to inspire us today,” said Bunch.
At the conclusion of the dedication ceremony, each visitor received a small packet of wildflower seeds with the challenge of planting them in a “place of significance” in Skyla’s memory. Skyla’s parents also received from the Horticulture Dept. several potted plants that Skyla herself had planted as a student.
“As a horticulture student, we know that Skyla loved the wonder of new life and the beauty of nature,” Bunch explained. “And just as she added beauty to the world, these wildflowers will grow and spread beauty in her honor, anywhere we plant them.”
The new bench is available to all students, employees, and visitors of Blue Ridge Community College at 245 East Campus Drive in Flat Rock.
