ASHLAND — In Lithia Park, a block away from the house where Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche grew up, hundreds of friends, family members and emotional strangers gathered Wednesday to honor the 23-year-old who lost his life protecting girls he didn't know on a Portland MAX train.
Namkai-Meche died May 26 from stab wounds police say were inflicted by a man who became violent on the light-rail train after hurling racial slurs at the girls.
Namkai-Meche stepped between the man and the girls, who were not physically harmed, as did Ricky Best, 53, of Happy Valley, who also died, and 21-year-old Micah Fletcher of Portland, who was seriously wounded.
Namkai-Meche's last words were, "Tell everyone on this train I love them."
Childhood friend Alex Landt said at Wednesday's memorial for Ashland's hometown hero, "Tilie cared about all of us. We were all on that train."
"Tilie," as Namkai-Meche was nicknamed, was remembered by childhood friends as smart, empathetic and courageous.
He would launch hikes, what he called "quests," from the front porch of his family's purple Victorian house and guide his friends through Lithia Park's forested acres, around Ashland Creek and into the hills that hug the small Southern Oregon city.
He read philosophy books, from the ancient Greeks to New Age, and was always on a mission. He spent three months in Indonesia in high school. At the memorial, his mother, Asha Deliverance, said he left this world while on a mission.
"Don't think my son died in vain," she said with conviction. "I promise you he did not."
Deliverance and Namkai-Meche's father, known as Papa Chris, spoke separately, sometimes with profanity, and clearly in pain.
"Taliesin would have stood up for anyone on that train," said Deliverance, who is printing T-shirts that read, "We choose love," to distribute to students.
Cedar Miller of Ashland, who was Namkai-Meche's godfather, officiated the memorial. "I'm hurting," he said. "Our country doesn't know how to grieve."
Miller spoke of Namkai-Meche's love of people, nature and the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.
"If you didn't know him," said Miller, "you still love him" for the way he shielded the two girls, one of whom was wearing a head covering worn in public by some Muslim women.
Members of the Muslim community presented Deliverance with a letter of gratitude for "raising a strong and righteous son." A speaker with the group paraphrased ancient teachings that if one saves an innocent life, it's like saving the world.
Ashland mayor John Stromberg presented the family with the Governor's Flag of Honor.
Namkai-Meche attended Ashland schools until he transferred from Ashland High School to enroll in the academically rigorous Stevenson School in California. In 2016, he graduated from Reed College in Portland and worked for a Portland consulting firm.
Wednesday's memorial was organized by Deliverance and employees of the Ashland company she founded, Pacific Domes.
Deliverance is well known in Ashland – "Asha is a mother to many," said one bereaved friend.
In advance of the memorial, Deliverance asked people to arrive at the large lawn area that surrounds Lithia Park's Bandshell stage at 3 p.m., with "blankets, food and lots of love."
The picnic was followed by speakers coming up to the stage, which is typically used by musical groups and the Ashland City Band. Last Friday, it's where high school seniors mourned Namkai-Meche during their graduation ceremony.
Before the memorial started, Deliverance invited people to leave flowers, photos and written memories of her son on an altar that held his ashes in a Himalayan sea salt urn.
As young men came forward to drop a note at the altar at the foot of the stage, performers Phoenix Sigalove, Stephen Roush and others sang about peace, love and forgiveness.
Namkai-Meche's sister Indeara Rose whispered that she had intended to sing about him, but said she could only slowly read her lyrics.
Sister Ati Nasiah said between sobs that everyone needs to look at their contribution to peace.
Craig Wright, an author and musician who sang and played the guitar at the beginning of the memorial, has known Deliverance's family since Namkai-Meche was a child.
A dozen days after Tilly's death, Wright still struggles to capsulize his feelings. But he sees determination in the community to find meaning in the tragedy.
Namkai-Meche "showed the purity of approach, of being a warrior for love," said Wright, who is a Southern Oregon University Creative Writing professor. "It was a serious decision to confront the guy. You want to be inspired by an event like this, but it's hard to not be disheartened by the darkness we're up against, so we must be heartened by the light Taliesin has sparked."
Wright said people are asking, "How do we push back without fighting back? How do we live our life more like Tilie lived his life, with bravery?"
People gathered at a quickly arranged remembrance at Lithia Park the day after Namkai-Meche died and the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission continues to hold a silent nightly gathering from 6:30 p.m. to 7 pm. at the entrance to Lithia Park through June 29.
— Janet Eastman
jeastman@oregonian.com
503-799-8739
@janeteastman
Nickname changed to "Tilie" as requested by the family.
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