In loving memory

Will Twiford felt at ease when he was in nature, and had ever since he was a child. Growing up on Overbook Road, his parents, Marsha and Rainer Twiford, regularly found him and his friends playing in a creek nearby in Jemison Park.

“He used to play in the creek, wade in the creek and look for golf balls and take them and sell them back to the pro shop,” Marsha Twiford said.

“Or [he and his friends would] stand on our front porch and hit them back into the creek,” Rainer Twiford said.

Now, many years after his childhood adventures, a memorial bench will be taking Will Twiford’s place in Jemison Park after he suddenly died of a drug overdose.

“The memorials are a way for families to have a physical destination to visit to remember loved ones,” said superintendent of the Parks and Recreation Department Shanda Williams. “With most of our memorials being benches within our parks, it gives them a tranquil place to sit in an area that is an important part of their memories with their loved ones.”

The added significance of the area for Will Twiford’s bench is that it will be placed not far from his childhood home, where his family so often found him playing outside, Rainer Twiford said.

“We love the area; we love the trail. He lived just a few hundred yards from where the bench is going to be,” he said. “We wanted [something] that would remember him in a way that would last in the community that’s been so gracious to us.”

One of the things that he is remembered for is his love for the outdoors. Because Will Twiford felt more at ease outside than in a classroom when he was younger, he loved outdoor activities and became an avid sportsman and golfer.

“Will really excelled at golf,” Marsha Twiford said. “That was his outlet. That’s how he got to shine.” 

As Will Twiford was entering eighth grade, however, his parents noticed a drastic change in his personality, and he began showing signs of depression.

“He was one of the happiest young children you would ever see,” Rainer Twiford said. “And then he sorta hit a wall.”

Later in his life, soft drugs led to hard drugs. “Soft drugs” are thought to have only minor effects on health but are often referred to as a “gateway” to hard drugs, such as heroin, which Will Twiford eventually struggled with. He continued to struggle with his addiction, but worked toward being clean by attending various rehabilitation facilities to get the help he needed. 

Recently, after getting help and taking steps toward recovery, he was convicted of a charge that would remain on his record. The conviction sent him back to the drugs he had been working so hard to avoid, and the drugs that soon claimed his life.

Will died Oct. 5, 2016, after inhaling heroin laced with fentanyl, just weeks before his 29th birthday. “He lasted until Oct. 5, and I was on my way to pick him up to take him to detox,” his father said. “And he really wanted to go.”

His death affected his family greatly, his mother said, leaving grieving parents and a devastated brother and sister. “It rips the heart out of a family,” Rainer Twiford said. 

Both parents agree that drug addiction, which is classified as a disease by the American Society of Addiction Medicine and crosses every socioeconomic level, is a national epidemic. 

“It’s so rampant,” Marsha Twiford said.

“There are more people who die his age, from the exact same thing, than die in automobile accidents,” Rainer Twiford said.

According to the 2014 National Vital Statistics reports published in June 2016, car accidents were the cause of around 6,000 deaths, while there were 10,462 drug-induced deaths.

Although there is no easy way for parents to deal with the death of one of their children, Marsha and Rainer Twiford have agreed there are two consolations for the death of their son: Will Twiford’s suffering is over, and the entire community has come together in his memory. 

“We saw how many people had loved Will at one time or another,” he said.

“It’s been very humbling,” Marsha Twiford added.

Will Twiford’s memorial bench is set to be placed along the nature trail close to Beechwood Road, not far from a memorial bench honoring one of Will’s childhood friends who died a few years ago in a car accident. It is with their son’s memorial bench that the Twifords are hoping to pass on their family’s story, so others may learn of the dangers of drugs and their powerful addictions. 

“The day before he died … he said when he first started experimenting with heroin, he said that was a choice, but that after a very short period of time, it wasn’t a choice anymore,” Rainer Twiford said. “[We hope] that one person might get the message to steer clear.”