On Tuesday morning, a few dozen people gathered around a new bench not far down a walking path behind the Chapel Hill Public Library. Among the people surrounding the permanent seat was former U.S. Rep. David Price, who reached down and gently touched a plaque screwed into the back.
The message on the plate honors Price’s late wife, Lisa, who died nearly two years ago.
Slowly, others who knew Lisa Price personally or worked tangentially with her on several local causes walked up to read the inscription or take a photo of the memorial bench. On the other side of the walking path facing the bench is a freshly-planted maple tree — also in Price’s honor.
Tuesday’s gathering culminated months of communication between North Carolinians Against Gun Violence and the Chapel Hill Public Library to formally memorialize Lisa Price, who had major roles in helping establish both institutions in their modern forms. Before the trip down to see the bench, people gathered at the library’s terrace to hear perspectives and stories shared about Price’s life, dedication, and friendship.
Lisa Price, 82. (Photo via the Price family.)
Becky Ceartas, who is the executive director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence (NCGV), spoke on behalf of her nonprofit — which Price helped co-found in Chapel Hill more than 30 years ago. Price was one of three women who banded together in 1993 after a jogger was fatally shot in Chapel Hill and pledged to limit such deaths from happening to all communities. Over the years, the women’s leadership established what continues to be the lone statewide group dedicated to gun violence prevention. Price was a shining example, said Ceartas, serving as the nonprofit’s executive director until her retirement in 2008.
The current executive director recalled first joining NCGV and being invited to the Prices’ residence — sitting at the same kitchen table where the trio first created the organization. Ceartas said from that moment until Price’s death, she was always “a true mentor,” and keen to hear updates on the nonprofit while showing her appreciation to the group’s efforts even long after her retirement.
“They [started] this at a time when there was not as much public support for preventing gun violence as there is today,” Ceartas said of the leadership core. “Lisa stayed involved because of her passion and commitment to keeping people safe throughout North Carolina. I could always go to her for advice, she wanted to be helpful to me and the organization.
“On behalf of the board and staff of NCGV,” she added, “we are forever grateful she had the insight to build a statewide movement to prevent gun violence. We bought a tree and bench to honor Lisa’s commitment to the cause.”
Ceartas said one of her biggest lessons from Price was her fearlessness of asking for donations to NCGV, showing her conviction to others over the cause and why the nonprofit needed extensive support. Her forthcoming methods led to significant strides of financial growth and several special guests taking part in NCGV events — including North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper and performer Petula Clark, who Price invited to an event after one of Clark’s concerts in Raleigh.
Former U.S. Rep. David Price speaks to a gathered crowd there to honor his late wife Lisa’s advocacy for both North Carolinians Against Gun Violence and the Chapel Hill Public Library.
The plaque on the Lisa Price Memorial Bench along a walking trail of the Chapel Hill Public Library. Across from the bench sits a young maple tree, which was also planted in Price’s honor.
Former U.S. Rep. David Price stands with Chapel Hill Town Council Member Karen Stegman, NCGV Executive Director Becky Cearstas, and former staffer David Beck in front of the Lisa Price Memorial Bench on June 18, 2024.
In addition to her statewide work with NCGV, Price was also involved in the local government of Chapel Hill — where she lived with her husband for many years. Lisa served as the executive assistant to two Chapel Hill mayors, Jonathan Howes and Ken Broun, and helped navigate schedules, manage daily duties and set policy goals. Years later, in a more personal capacity, Price was a major advocate for expanding the Chapel Hill Public Library and raising funds for its current building constructed in the early 2010s.
Chapel Hill Town Council Member Karen Stegman was among those who spoke at the dedication ceremony and was a member of the group who worked to make the memorial bench possible. She said she believes it is fitting for the town to partner with North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, since the nonprofit’s goals align with the local government’s values — and her own.
As a Chapel Hill native, former board member of NCGV, and an elected official, Stegman described herself as “a proud member of the Lisa Price Fan Club,” especially from her experience of Price taking her under her wing.
“She was so passionate, and so I think as soon as you crossed into her path around an issue, she grabbed you,” Stegman told Chapelboro after the ceremony. “She just was always so supportive and encouraging — she was really always so positive and she would push, but she’d do it in such a kind and positive way. It really meant a lot that she was in my corner and the corner of folks doing this work.
“[Price] was rarely the face of the issue,” she added, “but she was doing all the important work to make sure it happened, to make sure it was funded, and to make sure it continued.”
The combination of Price’s beliefs and setting was also something mentioned by Rep. Price in his own comments shared toward the end of Tuesday’s ceremony. The former congressman thanked everyone for their efforts to dedicate a bench and focus on the issues so important to his wife, recalling how Lisa’s support of his work and diplomacy was unwavering amid all her other contributions to the community. Price recalled a comment his late partner shared during a trip to Israel’s West Bank just months before her passing.
“‘Violence is the worst thing in the world, and we must do whatever we can, whenever we can, to counter violence wherever we find it,'” he quoted Lisa as saying. “That’s certainly how she saw the work at NCGV and it’s also the larger context in which she placed that work.”
“The contrast is stark [with this dedication] between the reality NCGV confronts, and the beauty and tranquility of this spot,” Price concluded. “But it’s fitting… it’s a fitting tribute to Lisa, a peace-loving soul who attempted to repair the world. Thank you for honoring her — and her cause — in this way.”
More about Lisa Price’s life can be found here in her 2022 obituary. The bench dedicated in her honor can be found along the Chapel Hill Public Library’s StoryWalk path.
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