More than 200 people gathered at Centennial Park Tuesday night to honor the memory of Brent D. Lukens, the Neeses teen who lost his life from injuries suffered in an auto accident nearly a year ago.

As part of his Eagle Scout project, Will Berry created a memorial spot in honor of Lukens by planting five willow trees and constructing two park benches in Centennial Park. Gathering at the memorial spot on the anniversary of Lukens' birthday, his family and friends remembered him, shed some tears and shared some laughter.

Speaking of the gathering in the park, Lukens' maternal grandmother Patsy Davis said, "This really blesses me because I know what it would mean to Brent. I see all the people here and I know that he touched a lot of lives. He was wonderful grandson and wonderful person."

"This is such a wonderful way to remember him," Lukens' mother Donna Lukens said, tearfully. "These children have been our rocks," she said of Brent's friends. "They are a great group of teenagers and I can tell they loved Brent."

Lukens' father, Robert, agreed with his wife and added, "It's hard to express to Will and the other kids how much it means to us that they thought of Brent with this. It's just great to see how much our son meant to so many people."

Sixteen-year-old Brent, a student-athlete at Orangeburg Prep Schools, fought for life for three days after he was hurt in a December 2002 single-car crash. Traveling as a passenger when the vehicle struck a tree, he suffered head injuries that proved fatal.

As the time drew near for Tuesday's ceremony to begin, without instruction, the group that had been milling and talking grew quiet and formed a broad circle around the memorial spot, which was softly illuminated by candles in white paper bags. And in the middle of the silent human circle, their faces lit by candles held in their hands, the Rev. Andy Nix, associate pastor of First Presbyterian Church, took a spot to share some wisdom to those gathered there.

"Why are you here?" Nix rhetorically asked the crowd. "You are here to remember Brent. And why is that important? Because you want to remember the gifts that he shared with you."

Continuing, Nix asked more whys. Why is Brent gone; why are we suffering and hurting?

In answer, he said, "I wish I had some magic word, but I don't. I wish I had some way to take away the hurt and pain and the hours you've lost crying, but I can't and I'm sorry. Only God can take that away. Unfortunately, life is full of pain and suffering. But on the flip-side, it is also full of joy an laughter."

Nix left the crowd with words from scripture, Ecclesiastes 3, "To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven ..."

"It is time to let go of the past," Nix said. "But hold on to your memories and reach for the future."

Lukens' mother tearfully thanked everyone present for coming to honor her son's memory and share their love for him just before the candles were extinguished and the crowd dispersed.

When the ceremony was over, one of Lukens' friends, 16-year-old Tyler Gardner said, "This helps me overcome some of the grief that I've had. I'm glad that we came together like this. It makes me more determined to remember the good times with Brent."

T&D Staff Writer Thomas Brown can be reached by e-mail at tbrown@timesanddemocrat.com and by telephone at 803-533-5532.

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