OXFORD, Mich. – We have heard from the heartbroken parents of the teenagers killed in the Oxford High School shooting, but siblings were left behind too.
Brothers and sisters who had planned on a lifetime together have been forced to find a way to go on.
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“He was the kind of brother that’s always there for you, you know? Like any problem you had, you could talk to him about it,” said Clay Shilling. “He was just always there.”
Justin Shilling was 17 years old when he was killed. It’s a loss that makes their childhood memories even more precious.
“My mom always said we were like beach bums for the lakes,” Clay recalled. “And I think every summer we were out there.”
Justin, Clay, and their older brother Nathan spent long summer days exploring Port Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, the dunes and beyond.
“We would go and see the lighthouses every time and on like the ports where the big ships are we would run and try to catch up to it when it would cross right past the lighthouse to be closer. so it was honestly just really fun,” Clay said. “The Great Lakes are beautiful and not even just like the lakes and the dunes, right alongside is all the forests.”
Down the Polly Ann Trail in Oxford, past White Pine Coffee, will soon showcase a plaque dedicated to Justin. There’s also a plan to plant a pollinator garden.
Polly Ann Trail was an important place for the Shilling brothers where memories were made every mile.
“The trail is such an important part of our childhood. Like so many summers were riding our bikes down to Frosty Boy or going further and exploring the little trails close to the library,” Clay said. “And it’s it’s just really cool to know that like there’s going to be something permanent for the memories we have here.”
On June 8, an event will be held to benefit the Forever Justin Shilling Foundation, which focuses on projects that protect and celebrate the environment. They hope to spread Justin’s love of nature to others.
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Clay said he hopes it will help people feel a connection to nature and bring others the peace it brought Justin.
“One time we were talking about it when we were on Lake Michigan on the sand dunes, we were watching the sunset,” Clay said. “We were talking about how there’s this there’s this brief moment where you realize what you’re looking at. It feels like like, like you can finally breathe again.”
Justin’s Walk and the plaque unveiling will take place June 8. You can find more information here.