Dedication set for J.J.'s Playground in Lynchburg

By: From staff reports | Lynchburg News and Advance
Published: March 13, 2009

J.J.’s Playground, a project honoring the memory of a Lynchburg man who died while serving in Iraq, is set to be dedicated at the end of the month.

Pfc. Jason Scheuerman — nicknamed J.J. — committed suicide in 2005 during a deployment to Muqdadiyah, Iraq. He was 20 years old.

Following his death, his parents, now passionate advocates for mental health care reform in the military, partnered with West Lynchburg Baptist Church to build J.J.’s Playground.

Scheuerman grew up attending West Lynchburg Baptist and is remembered there as a kind, funny boy who enjoyed working with the congregation’s children. A playground was deemed a fitting tribute.

The new playground sits across from West Lynchburg Baptist on the corner of Langhorne Lane and Eldon Street. The church plans to use the site for its youth programs, as well as open it up for public use at designated times.

Officials announced the details of the dedication ceremony Thursday. The event has been scheduled for Sunday, March 29, during the 11 a.m. worship service.

Activities will include music, special prayers and remarks from the Scheuerman family. It will begin inside the church sanctuary but conclude at the playground itself.

Members of the public are welcome to attend.

Scheuerman’s parents, Christopher and Anne Scheuerman, have spoken of the playground as a place of healing for them.

“We have been fighting this battle since his death,” Anne Scheuerman said in an interview last fall, “and it is so dark and so sad and so heartbreaking. To finally have something to do, somewhere to go, where people will be happy and smiling.”

“That means so much to us.”