Green memorial for Vanessa

Rich Quinn took the shovel and started digging.

His friends joined in.

Children ran around them, playing in the water at Memory Grove on Saturday as they dug a hole. Off to the side, a tree stood ready to be planted in the memory of Vanessa Quinn.

It is the latest tribute to Quinn, 29, who was murdered in the Trolley Square shooting rampage. Rich Quinn said it's their way of moving on, yet remembering his wife.

"This is just one more step," he said.

On Feb. 12, Vanessa Quinn was meeting her husband at Trolley Square. After four years of marriage, they finally decided to buy the wedding rings they couldn't afford before. Witnesses said Quinn was near the Bath and Body Works store when she was gunned down by Sulejman Talovic, who also killed four others before police fatally shot him.

Rich and Vanessa Quinn were married at Memory Grove, just a short distance away from where the Eastern Redbud tree was being planted.

"It just seemed fitting," said family friend Karen Streeter.

'Speedy Green Shoes'

"Are we ready?" Rich Quinn asked the dozen or so friends and loved ones who gathered around him on Saturday afternoon.

Then, he shoveled the dirt back in. One by one, then in groups, his friends and loved ones started filling in the hole. As they planted the tree, some shared stories about "Nessa."

"We always called her 'Speedy Green Shoes,'" said Brittany Sharp, who played with Quinn on an indoor soccer team.

"All you'd see of Vanessa when she ran was the bottom of her shoes," Katy Orn said as she cracked a smile. "It was all about her shoes."

Members of Quinn's soccer team wore black T-shirts with an image of Quinn's signature green-soled shoes printed on them. On the back, it read: "Quinn Edition. You can't buy this shirt, you have to earn it."

The ceremony was short and simple. There were no speeches or eulogies.

"It's Quinn casual. That's just how they are," said a friend.

Cards were handed out with the words "Life Forward" printed on them. Rich Quinn said it is another tribute to his wife's memory.