Garrick's funeral arrangements are as follows:
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Thursday 4PM-8PM viewing
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Friday 9:30AM-11AM viewing
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Friday 11AM-12PM Memorial Service- followed by a luncheon
It will be held at: The First United Methodist Church, 1200 N Ann Arbor St, Saline, MI 48176.
There will be a tribute to Garrick on Thursday from 9PM-10PM at the Saline High School Track, located at 1300 Campus Parkway.
The Family and Saline Area Schools have established a fund in Garrick Roemer's name to fund a track scholarship and suicide prevention education. In leu of flowers the family is asking that donations be made to Saline Area Schools- Garrick Roemer Fund.
The Garrick Roemer Fund: https://www.payschools.com/cat.asp?id=6D90F7F3CAC141AEAA215C8E5833ADA3
This is the location to contribute to the Garrick Roemer Track Scholarship and Suicide Education Fund. The money collected will be strictly used for a scholarship for a deserving Saline Track Athlete or suicide prevention education. A board will meet to decide how these funds will be allocated each year between these two worthy causes.
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In 2012, I was fortunate enough to be on staff with the Saline Hornets track team. That team finished third at the state meet, but will likely go down as one of the greatest teams ever to wear the Saline jersey. The team had a certain "swagger" that brought them back to being a force in the state and sparked the motto of "Track Town". Garrick Roemer was the center of that "swagger", he was the center of that team. At the state finals, he ran on two third place finishing relays (4x200 and 4x400), a ninth place finishing 4x100, while also finishing fourth in the open 400. Two weeks earlier, on his home track, Garrick did what he always did; dazzled us. He brought us all to the edge of our seats thinking "maybe he can't catch that guy".. only to regret even having the thought pop into our heads as he came into the final 100 meters to open up that stride and coast to victory.
As I started this article I walked into my closet, praying I hadn't thrown out the shirt from the state meet that season. Sure enough, I still had it. On the back is a list of all Saline boys and girls who qualified along with a list of coaches where you can promptly see "Coach Newtom" (not Newton); a typo I never thought I would remember, I am guessing I will now never be able to forget.
I wish I had asked others to offer their thoughts to be put into this article, but I think for many, the wounds are still too fresh. I know they are for me. An article of 250 words has taken me two hours and at least a dozen complete restarts. I suppose this is the easiest way to describe the way many of us are feeling: numb, unable to comprehend what really happened, and even less able to express those thoughts and feelings in any coherent form. On Thursday night, these sensations will become all to real. From 9-10pm on Saline's track there will be a tribute for Garrick as an athlete and especially as the tremendous person he was.
Whether you knew Garrick or not, you can still support what he represents. An athlete that rose through the ranks of a program. In his years on the team he went from a high jumper/hurdler/short-sprinter to one of the most prolific and exciting long-sprinters in the state. His teammates will remember his personality, his leadership, his "swagger" that turned boys into men, doubters into believers, and Saline into TRACK TOWN.