It has been a year since mourners lined South Side streets. A year since students stood outside Brother Rice High School holding American flags and bowing their heads. A year since Beverly neighbors crowded into St. John Fisher Church to pay their final respects.

It has been a year since Marine Cpl. Conner Lowry, 24, died in Afghanistan.

On a cold and snowy Chicago day, Lowry's memory was honored with the dedication of a street in his name and sculpture in his neighborhood park. Family, friends, neighbors and community members huddled together to pay tribute to a young man who made the ultimate sacrifice. 

Lowry's mother, Modie Lavin, lead the project to honor her son with a permanent neighborhood memorial. The sculpture in Beverly Park, 2460 West 102nd Street, will stand not only as a reminder of Lowry's legacy, but as a place for the community to honor all veterans.  

Lowry died last year during combat operations in Afghanistan, four months before he was scheduled to return home.  

A memorial fund has also been established that will provide scholarships to students at Brother Rice High School and St. John Fisher School. 

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