Life is a celebration every day, said Shawnee businesswoman Ann Davis, so that was the name chosen for a park at Philadelphia and Main Street across from the Shawnee Library.

Davis spearheaded the park project to honor her daughter, Dana, who died in 1990. Those who enjoy the peace of a sunny afternoon on a park bench at Celebration of Life Park, the asthetics it adds to downtown Shawnee and the thousands of joyful lights at Christmas, have experienced the reason it was built. Life is a celebration for those who enjoy it.

The vision for Celebration of Life Park began on Memorial weekend 1991, shortly after Dana' death. Davis wanted to do something to honor her daughter, but hadn't been able to come up with just the right thing. In the dream, she saw a park that celebrated the lives all the very special people of Shawnee.

Previous experience with Shawnee community projects assured Arnold and Ann Davis that they could depend on others to help make the dream come true. They formed a fund-raising plan that included selling park benches, bricks, trash containers and trees. As the project caught the imagination of many others, two large donations helped complete the project. One donation was specifically for a chiming clock for the park, to celebrate on the hour, every hour, that life is a song.

Amid flag waving, special guests and the laughter of children, Celebration of Life Park officially opened with a July 4 celebration in 1994.

Extracted from The SHAWNEE NEWS-STAR, Thursday, August 7, 2003