These Knoxville wreaths carry holiday spirit – and the memory of children lost to violence

Angela Dennis, Knoxville News Sentinel
·3 min read

Daily life seemed like a chore for Terry Walker-Smith. She knows what it’s like to lose a child to violence – not once, but twice.

Though the holidays were cloaked in grief following their deaths, she made a choice to turn the darkness of sorrow into something bright.

For eight years, she has orchestrated a community wreath-making event that’s about much more than glittering lights and tinsel. This event provides a safe space of solace and support for mothers and anyone else who has lost loved ones to violence.

In 2007, Walker-Smith’s son Dee was killed in a stabbing. His brother, Christopher, was shot two years later. But it wasn’t until 2015 that she began planning the event after noticing so many people throughout the community were dying.

“Zaevion Dobson was killed, Alan Johnson,” Walker-Smith told Knox News. “Then, I know another mother whose son took his life. It was just back-to-back loss, and after I lost my second son, I knew I didn’t want another mother to have to go through what I did.”

Knoxville homicide rates and personal stories prompt action from grieving mothers

For many, the holidays carry a somber reminder of an empty seat at the dinner table.

Knoxville's homicide rate, consistently above the national average, experienced a slight decline in 2022. Homicides fell from 41 in 2021 to 35 in 2022, a 15% decrease.

But despite this improvement, Knoxville has yet to return to prepandemic totals, which typically ranged in the high teens to low 20s.

“Grief is a process, and I wanted to help a mother through her journey of grief as she copes, heals and rebuilds after the death of her child,” Walker-Smith said. “And it comes in that order.”

With that goal in mind, she collaborated with Zenobia Dobson to start Mothers of Missions Survivors, or MOMS. Dobson’s son, Zaevion, was murdered in the Lonsdale community in 2015 at the age of 15, thrusting the city’s gun violence issue into the national spotlight.

That shooting happened just eight days before Christmas.

Small holiday gathering earns support from Knoxville leaders

After Walker-Smith founded MOMS, she realized mothers were losing even younger children. Grief can be overwhelming without a little boy or girl to buy gifts for or to sit on Santa’s lap.

Walker-Smith recalls the Biblical story from Exodus in which lamb's blood was a sign for the angel of death to "pass over" homes during the final plague God was sending to Egypt.

Cherry McMahon and Wanda Wollo talk at the 8th annual holiday wreath-making for families who have lost children and loved ones to gun violence. The families gathered at the Knoxville Public Works Building earlier this month. McMahon and Wollo honored Aisha Cataes with their wreath.
Cherry McMahon and Wanda Wollo talk at the 8th annual holiday wreath-making for families who have lost children and loved ones to gun violence. The families gathered at the Knoxville Public Works Building earlier this month. McMahon and Wollo honored Aisha Cataes with their wreath.

“That blood above the door and my spirituality as a Christian really is what gave me the idea to begin this wreath-making event," she said. "I thought to myself, what a great reminder of life to make a wreath to hang over the door in memory of our children.”

The gathering started small but has grown consistently each year. Now, it has support from Moms Demand Action, the city of Knoxville, Turn Up Knox and community leaders' donations.

For Dobson, the annual December event is all about sisterhood.

““We cherish these moments, and we rely on one another for support,” she told Knox News. “Coming together at this time of the year to remember our babies really means a lot.”

MOMS and wreath-making event have plans to grow in Knoxville

The eighth edition on Dec. 10 drew dozens of mothers, community members and children who have experienced losses caused by violence.

Walker-Smith has long-term plans to grow the event and provide support to mothers throughout the year. As violence continues throughout the community, she believes MOMS can play an important part in addressing the issue through collaborations with other organizations.

“It doesn’t stop at Christmas,” she said. “We want to be here for each other for as long as we need it. Our children’s memory will never be forgotten, and that is something that binds us to one another.”

Mothers of Missions Survivors can be reached on Facebook.

Angela Dennis is the Knox News race, justice and equity reporter. Email angela.dennis@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter @AngeladWrites. Instagram @angeladenniswrites. Facebook at Angela Dennis Journalist.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville children lost to violence remembered with Christmas wreaths