Lakewood garden is the legacy of one man’s devotion to restoring native plants

Jim Senko called himself a plant specialist. To someone like me, who frequently kills plastic geraniums, “wizard” would be a more accurate word.

A walking encyclopedia of growing things, he knew plants, knew their names, took delight in their little faces as if they were loved children. His talent showed up early when he started at age 11 to work at his uncle’s nursery in Hillsboro, Oregon. For example, at the age of 12 he rescued over 1,500 deciduous azalea “baby plants” his uncle didn’t want. He had over 95% success in making them grow..

A member of the Silent Generation, Jim never talked about his many achievements and awards. Even many of those closest to him didn’t know about the football scholarship offered by the University of Notre Dame or his many service awards earned in the Air Force, including the rarely bestowed Distinguished Service Cross. I had heard about all of this from a distance. And then my son was lucky enough to marry his amazing daughter and I could see for myself.

Laurel Lemke, of Grave Concerns Association, wrote of his work to save native plants: “Jim could recognize the plants and see what needed to be saved. The work we did was to salvage native plants in Lakewood prior to construction of office buildings. He had a reverence for plant life we took for granted.”

Jim Senko was a key founder, supporter and visionary for the Grave Concerns Association, which works to restore identity and dignity to the memory of deceased mental patients at Western State Hospital who were buried without either, it being believed that mental illness was shameful and deserved only an unmarked grave.

The first huge project was Jim’s Park in Lakewood covering 3 acres of entirely indigenous plants. He would give visitors plants to munch on as he told how the first people used these plants as their grocery store. He’d send visiting school children each home with a brown bag of different vegetables and specimens to take to their families “for show and tell.”

Steilacoom Tribal Elder Danny Marshall recalls visiting Jim to receive some containers of the Steilacoom Pink Flower Jim was working to restore.

“He was generous in sharing his knowledge about what was learned about caring for the flower,” Marshall says. “The flower, namesake for our area, is a social plant and does not do good on its own, or survive well on the newfangled city treated water. The story about the survival of the Steilacoom Pink Flower is one that follows a path that resembles our cultural history. We were meant to be together, and we need each other to survive.”

Jim’s legacy is, perhaps, the Meditation Park at St. John Bosco Church in Lakewood. The work on the Meditation Park, which began in April 1997, has been involved 12 prisoners from McNeil Island, Eagle Scouts, and the Knights of Columbus, who made it their special endeavor. It just couldn’t grow fast enough for Jim, who had a dream for each of the 1,264 trees, shrubs, plants and bulbs that are listed in Appendix B of the hefty binder in which he logged the statistics.

“The park consists of 109 man-made features including wheelchair accessible trails, benches, 15 Stations of the Cross, five shrines, three memorials, a grotto with altar and seating for more than 100 people, a work shed, a community garden,” Nancy Covert wrote in the Prairie Gazette.

Paul Mernaugh, volunteer manager of the Meditation Park, remembers the morning that Jim Senko arrived at the park to find that an eccentric inhabitant had taken up residence beside the statue of St. Bernadette. When Jim told him he’d have to go, the intruder stood up and roared, “I am God.” Jim replied very calmly, “Oh no, I know God very well and you’re definitely not Him.”

Jim was a devout Catholic whose faith was part of his heart and soul. After his beloved wife, Pat (only he called her Patty), passed away in 2011, Jim remarked with his usual directness, that he had made a simple bargain with God: If God would make it possible for him to keep working, Jim would devote every minute to making the community better. He did that. Jim’s health deteriorated rapidly. He didn’t seem to notice.

You might have seen the notice in The News Tribune a few weeks ago. “James Francis Senko died while working in his garden in Steilacoom, Washington on July 30, 2021.” His gardening hat was hung on a tree limb, and the rake and clippers he was using were beside him. God kept the bargain.

Donations in Jim Senko’s name for the upkeep of the Meditation Park at St. John Bosco Church are welcome. If you’d like to see the Meditation Park or want to consider volunteering, it’s available to visit between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, but please call first: 253-324-0245.

Where to find Dorothy in September

• Sept. 7: From 10 a.m. to noon, Celebrate World Watercolors by joining Dorothy and friends, artists and dribblers in painting a water color picture online. Get list of supplies and zoom link at Dorothy@SwimmingUpstreamRadioShow.com
• Sept. 9: The Book Doctors. For information and registration, go to SwimmingUpstreamRadioShow.com
• Sept. 10: Robbie Samuels Zoom Happy Hour on “Lessons from TV’s Early Days for today’s virtual events” at www.NoMoreBadZoom.com
• Sept. 16: “The Right Way to Handle Porcupines” Association of Washington Cities. Information: 360-753-4137
• Sept. 20: Coffee Chat and Change The World. Start of the Second Season of SwimmingUpstreamRadioShow.com

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