OXFORD, Mich. – Four years to the day after a gunman took the lives of Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, Justin Shilling, and Tate Myre at Oxford High School, hundreds returned to the place where the heartbreak began—this time to wrap it in light and love.
Sunday’s fourth annual Remembrance Day brought families, classmates, and strangers together at Hana’s Garden, the permanent memorial built on the school grounds in honor of all four victims. Under a cold gray sky, they decorated a towering Christmas tree with ornaments bearing the teens’ names and draped the garden in the twinkling fairy lights Hana adored.
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“Hana loved Christmas more than any kid I’ve ever known,” said Steve St. Juliana, Hana’s father, as he hung a glittering star near the top. “She’d be 18 now, probably home from college, fighting me for the remote and stealing all the good ornaments. This tree is for her—and for Madisyn, Justin, and Tate too.”
Members of the 42 Strong Foundation—created in Tate Myre’s honor to mentor student-athletes—lined the garden paths with 444 luminaries, one for every day since November 30, 2021. Teens who never met the four victims stood shoulder-to-shoulder with survivors, quietly placing candles while “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” played softly in the background.
“It’s heavy every year, but it’s also beautiful,” said Buck Myre, Tate’s father. “These kids keep showing up. That’s how we know our children are still changing lives.”
The gathering ended with four blue and gold balloons released into the dusk—one for each life stolen—while the crowd recited the victims’ names in unison, a tradition now etched into Oxford’s calendar.
Four years gone, but never forgotten.
Hana. Madisyn. Justin. Tate. Forever Wildcats. 💙💛🕯️