"Maurice Gibb Park dedication"
(4th March 2007)
"Park Honor set for late Bee Gee"
Miami Herald (March 2): "The city of Miami Beach has announced plans to honor the late Maurice Gibb, one-third of the Bee Gees, with an official dedication this weekend of a park named after him.
"City officials and members of the Gibb family will be on hand for the ceremony, taking place at 4 p.m. Sunday at Maurice Gibb Park, 18th Street and Purdy Avenue.
"The ceremony is open to the public and is billed in a city press release as 'an intimate celebration of his life.'
"The park, formerly known as Island View Park, is just around the corner from Middle Ear Studios, where the Bee Gees frequently recorded and mixed their albums.
"Gibb, a longtime Beach resident, often visited the park, even when he and his brothers were not recording.
"''He used to go there almost every day at lunchtime to feed the sea gulls,'' Bob Koske, a Gibb-family friend who pushed for the memorial, told The Miami Herald in 2003. 'He would sit there, look at the water. Like anybody [who] has a little meditation spot.'
"Gibb died in January 2003 after emergency surgery for a blocked intestine. He was 53.
"After his death, his family and the city worked to honor his memory at the park site. The new name was approved by voters in 2004, and the $75,000 renovation has included a new sign at the corner and a special mosaic of imported glass tiles.
"According to the city, the Gibb family has asked that flowers and other gifts not be taken to the park, but rather that fans and friends who wish to make a gesture of remembrance donate to the Gibb Family Foundation.Maurice Gibbb Memorial park Dedication
March 4. Maurice Gibb honored in Miami Beach (Florida): his favorite South Beach park was dedicated in his name .
Maurice's family, mother Barbara and brothers Barry and Robin attended the ceremony. Also Mayor David Dermer and lots of friends and fans were there. Maurice's family unveiled a plaque in his honor and Maurice's son, Adam, made a thank you speech. Mayor David Dermer honored them with the key to the city.
Brothers Barry and Robin Gibb also said some words during the ceremeony:
Barry's speech
"Mo's loss to us was devastating, to our whole family, four years ago, and really nothing has changed since then. We all miss him deeply, and we all wish he was here.
"To our friends and families who traveled so far to be with us here today, we would like to say "Thank you for coming. Thank you for honoring Mo with your presence. Thank you for your support on this occasion to memorialize Mo's spirit. This is not an event for grieving but all of we will.
"This is a celebration of Mo's life, and those of us who knew Mo intimately will have a smile in their hearts today, for they'll know what a truly great spirit our brother living was. Mo the dreamer; Mo the artist, Mo the musician, Mo the magician, Mo the comedian, Mo the brother and the husband and the father and the friend. Mo the gadgetman.
"I'm sure that if he could, and if he had the technology, he'd be watching us here today, (and he probably does).
"And hearing our voices in his praise this place now becomes sacred to all of us, somewhere to come to meditate, somewhere to quietly remember our brother Mo.
"And once again, thank you all for being here, thank you very much."Robin's speech
"I'd just like to say that every day is an anniversary of missing Mo, and is not just every year, is all we face every day. But as Barry said, we always miss Mo, and he's always a part of our lives, and, we just don't accept...our way of dealing with it is, we simply just don't accept, we're in total denial.
"And I think that's the way we treat...as we see things as closure, we just accept Mo is still living, and by doing that, we think he's on holiday somewhere, and maybe we'll see him one day, and we probably will.
"Thanks for coming!"You can see photos here.
