Family of UW student Juniper Blessing speaks about death, legacy
The family of Juniper Blessing, the University of Washington student killed last month in her off-campus housing laundry room, spoke publicly for the first time about their memories of the talented and kindhearted 19-year-old.
Tributes to Juniper have poured in from across the globe, as vigils were held as far as the U.K. She was mourned at UW and in her hometown of Santa Fe, N.M., from where her parents, Craig and Monica Blessing, spoke about their memories of their daughter Thursday over the phone.
"The single thing that I was proudest about with Juniper was how beautifully and how thoughtfully she was going about trying to grow into who she was, in a world that sometimes was opposed to that," Craig said.
Juniper, who was a trans woman, was born in Princeton, N.J., before the family moved to Santa Fe in 2018. As a child, her musical talent quickly became evident to her parents.
She had a five-octave vocal range, Monica said, and she would sing around the house as a child. Her first stage role was in Seussical the Musical" at 11. When she was older, she attended New Mexico School for the Arts, a public charter for students of dance, music, visual arts and theater. The school had a celebration of life for Juniper last month.
In childhood, Juniper's parents tried to get her to sing for them, but the alto always refused. They eventually resorted to listening at her door. Juniper loved to do what Craig called "guerrilla singing": In a crowd, she would belt out a couple of lines and stop when everyone started looking around to see who it was.
"Juniper was joy," Craig said. "As a child, Juniper didn't walk - Juniper skipped everywhere."
When it came time for college, she knew she wanted to go to the West Coast. She felt Seattle could have been her "forever home," Craig said. Seattle was somewhere she felt she could be safer as a trans woman, said her older brother, 26-year-old Luke Blessing. At UW, Juniper was majoring in atmospheric science with minors in music and philosophy.
She was driven by her fascination with hurricanes and concern about climate change. When Juniper was young, she would go outside and pretend to read the weather forecast while holding a soup ladle, Luke recalled.
In March, Juniper was part of UW's production of "Considering Matthew Shepard," Craig Hella Johnson's musical response to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student. Juniper said it "was the most powerful thing that she had ever been involved with," Craig Blessing said.
At this point, prosecutors have said there is no evidence Juniper's gender identity was a motiving factor in the killing. An arraignment has not been held for Christopher Leahy, the 31-year-old man charged with murder in connection with Juniper's death. Defense attorneys believe he is not competent after visiting him at King County Jail several times. On Thursday a judge ordered he have his mental health evaluated to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.
Luke briefly talked to his sister the day before she died. She was at an event, and mentioned it was the first time she wore a dress in public. "There's so many things I wish I could have told her," Luke said. But he finds comfort knowing she was living as her authentic self.
She named herself after the Pokémon character Professor Juniper - a Pokémon lover, Juniper's favorite was Alolan Ninetales, who lives on a snowcapped mountain and is known for its gentle and calm temperament. Craig initially thought she named herself after the juniper trees of Santa Fe. "I said, 'Why did you choose something I'm allergic to?' And she laughed, and she said, ‘That makes me love it more.'"
When Juniper was a teen, her mom showed her how to paint her nails.
"When she was transitioning, I said, ‘Juniper, wherever you go, I will go with you,' " Monica said.
Like a typical little sibling, she teased her brother. When they went to Universal Studios for her high school graduation, she poked fun at Luke for being scared to go on the Revenge of the Mummy roller coaster. When the kids were young, Luke's first email address was named after Justin Bieber. Juniper would stick her head into his room to sing "Baby," before running around the house as he chased her.
She loved bugs - grasshoppers and moths, and would pick them up and cradle them in her hands. As a child, she buried a hummingbird in the yard, planting lavender so the hummingbird "has food forever," Monica said.
Juniper was looking forward to coming home in a couple of weeks, returning to her summer job as an usher for the Santa Fe Opera and spending evenings watching movies with her mom.
Monica said she and Juniper were "best friends." They would fall asleep together sometimes, nose-to-nose, Craig said. Each had a stuffed bunny, so Juniper had hers in Seattle and Monica had hers in New Mexico.
"I still sleep with the bunny, because it's her," Monica said.
In a message she left on Mother's Day, Juniper said she was "honored" to have Monica be her mom. They talked about plans for the summer, and Juniper told Monica she loved her "more than all the galaxies." Less than 12 hours later, Monica got a call from the police.
"What kills me is the suffering, the fear," Juniper faced, Monica said.
When the family came to Seattle after she died, Craig visited a memorial at UW's Red Square to see the notes, Pokémon cards and trans pride flags community members left for Juniper. On Monday, students relocated the memorial to a protected, semipermanent home in Mary Gates Hall. Someone had left a portrait of Juniper, with flowers drawn in her hair, that Luke now has sitting on his desk.
"She was the kind of person I would do anything for," Luke said. "That's still true now, and fighting to make sure she's remembered as the amazing person that she was, that's what's giving me purpose right now."
The New Mexico School for the Arts established a scholarship for students in Juniper's name, and awarded the first $1,000 award to a drumming student. The family hopes the foundation can grow, Monica said.
Juniper's ashes were delivered by the Postal Service on Wednesday.
The grief "comes in waves, Craig said. But for Luke: "The love that we've gotten, at least for me, outweighs it."
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