Remembrance and celebration mark 5-year anniversary of Joplin tornado

For Beth Trenary, May 22 is a day that life changed forever.

Trenary’s mother, Wendy Istas, was one of the 161 people killed after an EF5 tornado tore through Joplin on May 22, 2011.

On Sunday, the five-year anniversary of the tornado, Trenary was among the hundreds of people who gathered at Cunningham Park in Joplin for a memorial ceremony.

“It's important the way the community has healed and stayed strong,” Trenary said. “I think it's important for people to remember what they went through.”

The ceremony, which was called a Gathering of Remembrance and Hope, featured speeches from several local leaders, including Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon — who had just left the Joplin High School graduation where he was the keynote speaker.

The names of all 161 victims were read at Cunningham Park on Sunday after a moment of silence to commemorate 5:41 p.m., the time the tornado reached Joplin five years ago.

Cunningham Park was in the path of the tornado, which leveled thousands of buildings.

On Sunday, American flags surrounded the park, which features memorials for the tornado victims. The trees are green and healthy but not much taller than basketball goals.

The devastating weather of five years ago was replaced Sunday with sunshine and a cool breeze.

Sharon Taylor attended Sunday’s ceremony with an “I love Joplin” shirt.

Taylor’s home in Duquesne, a small city neighboring Joplin, was destroyed five years ago as she and her mother took shelter in the kitchen.

The only window in Taylor’s home that didn’t break was the one over her head.

“I feel like somebody was up there watching out for us,” Taylor said.

She attended Sunday’s ceremony to show her support. She said Joplin has rebuilt quite a bit in the last five years, but it will never be the same.

“They say everything needs a new beginning, and I guess Joplin has theirs,” Taylor said.

Max and Carol Stark didn’t lose any property or loved ones in the tornado five years ago, but they became emotional talking about the storm as they sat in the crowd at Sunday’s ceremony.

“We weren't hit directly, but everyone was affected,” Carol Stark said. “There's no way you could not be affected.”

Carol Stark said it was like being in “another world” walking around Joplin in the aftermath of the tornado.

Five years later, she said she has been impressed with the growth.

“In many ways it has been an encouragement and a testimony to the city,” Carol Stark said. “The people of this city have risen up stronger.”

Gov. Nixon said in his short speech at the event that Joplin has earned the admiration of the rest of the world with its perseverance after the tornado.

“The world has watched in awe as a city has risen anew,” Nixon said. “Brick by brick and board by board.”

Hours earlier, Nixon addressed 446 new Joplin High School graduates during a graduation ceremony at the Leggett and Platt Athletic Center on the campus of Missouri Southern State University.

Nixon said he has learned several lessons from the Joplin students about resilience, teamwork, perseverance and gratitude.

Nixon cautioned those driving through Joplin now not to view it as just another stop in southwest Missouri.

“If someone who had never been to Joplin before came here today, they might think this was just an ordinary place,” Nixon said. “But Joplin is no ordinary place. Joplin is special.”

Officials honored three students from this year’s class who died before graduation — Micayla Christenson, Hailey Johnson and Zachary Williams.

Williams is the only one of the three who died in the tornado.

His mother, Tammy Niederhelman, had tried unsuccessfully to get a seat saved for him at graduation.

Niederhelman was in attendance on Sunday. She said she was disappointed a seat wasn’t saved for her son, but she was thankful for a celebration held later that day in her son’s honor at Parr Hill Park.

“It is absolutely amazing,” Niederhelman said.

Whether they were talking about coming back from a devastating tornado or simply surviving the rigors of high school, many of the speakers at Sunday’s graduation talked about resilience.

Berenice Urbina Maturino, senior class president, summed things up in her speech as she looked into the crowd.

“What I mainly see is resilience,” Maturino said. “Resilience fills every seat in this gym.”