The Dogs & Mermaid Bench

When Shirley and her soon-to-be-wife Lorie decided to sponsor a bench in the Tile Park, the world was a very different place. Life was good in sunny Vallarta, as it mostly always is. They were happy with their simple life, two furry four legged children, and a lovely little seaside city to call their home. Though they had been together for a while now, they looked forward to finally officially tying the knot, surrounded by family and friends in their adopted home of Puerto Vallarta. 

Wave After Wave

After the bench was secured, and they got the ball rolling on their wedding plans, they traveled to New York to investigate some health issues that Lorie was having. As it turned out she had cancer, and the road ahead would likely be a long one.

Immediately following Lorie’s diagnosis, the pandemic hit. They went from an open-air kind of beach life in Vallarta, to quarantined in their 700 square foot New York apartment, for 2 years, only leaving to go to Lorie’s chemo treatments. 

As you might recall, no work happened on the Tile Park project during the pandemic. Everything ground to a halt, and there it stayed. Meanwhile in New York, Lorie was getting sicker. But ever the optimist, she was always looking forward to seeing the completed bench, always asking “when do you think it will be done?” 

At one point early in the pandemic, Shirley reached out to Nat to let her know that Lorie was living with stage 4 cancer… was there any way to jump the line when work resumed in the park so that Lorie might have a chance to see the completed bench? 

Two years went by… Lorie was in hospice at that point… but Nat did complete the bench. Right away she phoned Shirley to let her know it was ready whenever they were. 

Though plans were underway for the wedding in Vallarta, given the situation, they had previously decided to get officially married in New York. So by this time they were already married, but when they received word that the bench was done, they knew they’d be returning to Vallarta. They decided to go ahead with the ceremony as originally planned.

Though Shirley has mobility issues herself (she uses a scooter to get around), and Lorie was in hospice with late stage cancer, they somehow made their way to Vallarta. Lorie finally got to see her bench, and as you can tell from that glorious smile, she couldn’t have been happier about it. But within a couple of days of this image being captured, Lorie would take a turn for the worse and be admitted to Hospital Medasist here in Vallarta.

All told there were 50-60 people from all over the US who were invited to attend their wedding ceremony in Vallarta, and they were arriving in droves as Lorie lay in the hospital. Shirley hadn’t been sure whether to cancel the ceremony or not… Lorie had taken turns for the worse in the past and had so far bounced back. So she decided to roll the dice and leave it as planned. And Lorie waited patiently for a visit from each and every one of her wedding guests before leaving this earthly plane on what was supposed to be her dream wedding day. 

Instead, the day became a celebration of Lorie’s life.

Onward

Now when Shirley looks at the bench, she says it’s like visiting her family. The design of it was always meant to be dedicated to their pups, who they knew would not be with them forever. They both passed during the pandemic. It depicts a bright sun and blue sky, with Tootsie and Cagan high in the heavens, looking down upon a crystal blue sea as a graceful mermaid swims in the waves. For Shirley the mermaid has come to represent Lorie… forever young, healthy, and playing in her paradise: Puerto Vallarta.

Though the mermaid on the bench was not originally meant to represent Lorie, or anyone in particular, the couple have always had a fondness for mermaids. Here is a mural they commissioned from local artist Misael Ivan Lopez that hangs in their apartment. Contact Misael at https://www.facebook.com/misael.i.lopez 

The custom tiles on the bench depict the dogs' names, Tootsie and Cagan, and their home, affectionately known as “Casa Shilo”, a mix of Shirley and Lorie. The center tile says: “Welcome to our beautiful bench. Let your troubles and worries go away and know that you are surrounded by love. Look around and be grateful for the blessings given to you today.”

You’ll find the Dogs and Mermaid bench on the north edge of the park, opposite Bar la Playa.