A walk in remembrance of Oil City woman Suzette Nellis has been planned for March 27, one year to the day that her body was found near the Samuel Justus bike trail on Oil City’s West End.
The walk will begin at 5 p.m. at the Oil City Marina and conclude at the Suzette Nellis memorial site behind the Derrick and Penelec buildings.
The PPC Violence Free Network & Shelter operated by Family Service and Children’s Aid Society will set up a table at the memorial site with information about the shelter. PPC staff members will also be collecting monetary donations and items for the shelter.
Organizers say the purpose of the walk, which is sponsored by the Good Hope/Zion Lutheran Ministry of Oil City, the Oil City YWCA and PPC, is to remember Suzette, an avid trail user who walked daily, and “to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence in Venango County.”
She was reported missing the evening of March 26, 2023, after she failed to return home from her afternoon walk on the Samuel Justus trail not far from her home in the West End.
Her body was found the next morning, and her death was ruled a homicide.
David Bosley, 60, was arrested 10 days later at his home in the 1600 block of West First Street following an around-the-clock investigation that involved several law enforcement agencies.
Last spring following Suzette’s death, family and friends held three walks and a gathering in Fountain Park in Franklin as they actively worked to honor her memory and give back to the Oil City community that she loved.
These efforts have taken shape under the “We Walk for Suzette” banner.
A flyer promoting the March 27 walk says “every year on the date of death, loved ones are often encouraged to come together in commemoration and remembrance. For many, the first death anniversary is known as the ‘ultimate anniversary’ because it marks one year since the loved one’s last breath. Yet, it is more than a mark of passing time; it’s an acknowledgment of a life that was cherished and a loss deeply felt.”
Items needed for the PPC shelter include paper products such as paper towels and tissues, trash bags of all sizes, cleaning supplies and small appliances.
Attendees may wear purple to signify awareness of violence against women, or teal to signify sexual assault awareness.
We Walk For Suzette buttons will be given out until the supply runs out.
A limited number of We Remember Suzette shirts will be for sale with all profits going to the PPC shelter. Shirts are $12 apiece.
