Portland Public Schools is installing a memorial bench for the Lewiston shooting victim

Oct. 15 – East End Community School and the Maine Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing have installed a memorial bench for Joshua Seal, who was killed in the Lewiston shooting last year.

The bench overlooks Portland’s Back Cove from its perch on Munjoy Hill and stands next to an evergreen tree that students planted in his memory, Portland Public Schools spokeswoman Tess Nacelewicz said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

Seal, who is deaf, worked as an educational technician for the Maine Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at the school from 2013 to 2020, Nacelewicz said. He was killed nearly a year ago in the Oct. 25 shooting during a cornhole tournament.

The American Sign Language sign for “I love you” is etched into the bench, with a carved outline of Maine in the center with a red heart over Lewiston.

“He was a father of four children, also part of the PPS community, as well as a beloved husband, friend and colleague,” Nacelewicz said in the statement. “His advocacy for the deaf community knew no bounds.”

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