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Tranquility garden to be built in Jeffersonville to honor murdered Stop N Go clerk

His smile was a staple of Jeffersonville, Indiana. And now, family and friends are making sure Praful Patel's goodness lives on.

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — It was a peaceful Saturday morning in Perrin Park as family and friends of Praful Patel stood together along the memorial walkway.

“Today, your light shines bright. Today, your heart is felt,” friend, Melissa Scully, said. “As we gather in your name, and as we introduce the space where all your goodness be planted.”

Proof that his patience and kindness would prevail, Scully and family revealed the tranquility garden that will soon be created in his honor.

“It makes me glad that even after something like this, there is still a lot more good than evil,” Patel’s son, Shyam, said. 

Patel was shot and killed inside his store last October.

The Jeffersonville Stop ‘N Go clerk was known for his compassion towards every customer, it’s why the community made sure they would do something to remember him.

“He really tried to get to know them as a friend,” Shyam said.

Credit: WHAS11
Praful Patel was killed during a robbery at his Stop N Go store in Jeffersonville. His killer is still on the loose.

The Patel's knew the memorial walk at Perrin Park would be the perfect spot. They wanted something simple, but were given so much more.

“They thought they would get a bench and a tree, and we said ehhhh” Debbie Kiefer with the park said.

Instead, it will have hibiscus plants, and a reflection pool made of sand and stones. It’s a garden suited for Patel’s goodness and grace.

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“You can sit here and meditate,” Kiefer said. “They wanted a place where they could sit and talk to him and reflect on life in general, and this is what happened.”

The plan is to have it complete by next Spring.

Earlier this year, Antonio McRae pleaded guilty to killing Patel, and was sentenced in August to 50 years in prison.

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► Contact reporter Heather Fountaine at hfountaine@whas11.com and follow her on Twitter (@WHAS11Heather) and Facebook.

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