Hundreds of people gathered outside of the Battle Ground High School band room on Wednesday, June 21, to remember and honor Cienna Morrison, a 17-year-old junior at the school, who died by suicide just days before.
Flowers, written memories and other items were placed on the bed of Morrison’s Dodge Ram flatbed truck, which was parked on the sidewalk next to the band room.
The news of Morrison’s June 15 death quickly spread through the high school, and especially in the band room of Battle Ground High School, where she displayed her talent as a drummer for the advanced jazz band.
Morrison’s impacts beyond the jazz band will be missed by those who knew her. Not only was she described as an amazing musician, but she also provided drum lessons to middle school kids, rode horses and was a sketch artist. Her impacts as a friend and community member will also live on with her loved ones.
“I hope you know just how much you made other people’s lives better just by existing. I will forever miss the laughter in chem, the eye contact and the smiles when I’m singing, the late night conversations,” Clair Moss, a member of the advanced jazz band and Morrison’s best friend stated, in a social media post. “Your laugh and your smile were the most genuine thing in the world and I would give anything to hear it even just one last time.”
Band director, Greg McKelvey, said their morning rehearsal was hard on the band, but noted they overcame their emotions to play for the crowd in remembrance of Morrison at the memorial. McKelvey said Morrison was one of the main reasons he decided to wait until next year to possibly retire from Battle Ground High School as her talent and work ethic was incredible.
“She didn’t want to be the leader, but was always the one that kind of pushed everyone else,” Curtis Morrison, Cienna’s father said. “She just had so much drive and passion.”
Family and friends remember Cienna Morrison as a compassionate individual who was willing to help anyone who needed it. The weekend following the last day of school, the family planned to go on a camping trip. Camping was one of the numerous things she enjoyed doing.
“I went to high school with her dad and we grew up playing baseball together, but I became a musician later in life and I’ve been teaching drums for 20 years, and he approached me about helping his daughter out,” Kevin Blackwood, a drum instructor from Kingston, said. “And when I did, I found her to be tenacious, had a spark about her, a drive, and I tell you, every time we’d get into something, she’d want to dig much deeper. She would always keep me on my toes as a drum instructor and teaching me new things, and she took everything to heart and she really wanted to be the best she could be.”
Blackwood said Cienna Morrison had a good sense of humor and noted they always engaged in funny conversations.
“We had fun online doing Facetime lessons. And so I will just really miss that about our time together, not just drumming, but our talks, our funny laughter and I looked forward to seeing her in her career in the future, but that got cut short a little early,” Blackwood said.
The week prior to her death, Cienna Morrison was diagnosed with celiac disease, according to her parents. Despite not feeling well, she wanted to be awake and ready for early band rehearsal, which started around 6 a.m. on school days.
“She just felt terrible and she would make sure that we woke her up so she wouldn’t be late to band,” Curtis Morrison said.
Curtis Morrison and his wife, Carey Morrison, said their daughter was dealing with depression leading up to her death.
Her family is advocating for better in-person help for those who are dealing with depression and other reasons people seek counseling. Her parents said Cienna Morrison was seeing a virtual counselor, which has led Curtis and Carey Morrison to be frustrated with telehealth. Her mother, Carey Morrison, encourages those in need to find an in-person counselor.
“We both work in the medical field and they’ve taken all mental and they’ve thrown drug addiction in on it, so all the money goes to drug addiction. It doesn’t go to mental health and it’s getting swallowed up by a choice,” Curtis Morrison said. “We couldn’t find her a local counselor that she could see. She had to skip school to get one so we said, ‘OK, we’ll do it virtually.’ Her counselor that she finally got was all the way in Wenatchee. Kids can lie over the internet. You can’t read body language.”
Carey Morrison said the family is planning a second memorial — a celebration of life — for the last week of July or the first week of August, which will be open to the public.
A GoFundMe for Cienna Morrison raised over $16,100 of the $10,000 goal for medical and funeral costs as of Monday, June 26. The GoFundMe states any money raised beyond their goal will go toward suicide awareness. It can be found online at gofundme.com/f/medi cal-and-funeral-costs-for-cien na-morrison.
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There are resources in place for those experiencing suicidal thoughts or for those that know someone in need of help.
The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 and can be reached by calling 988. Those who call will be connected with a crisis counselor for emotional support and other services.
There is also the Southwest Washington Crisis Line available 24/7 by calling 800-626-8137. The Clark County Crisis Services program features a team of mental health professionals and certified peer counselors who can provide “an empowering, consumer engaged, individualized manner with dignity, compassion, confidentiality, equality and hope,” according to the Clark County website.
Clark County also offers a Teen Talk “warmline.” The nonjudgemental peer-to-peer support line helps with a variety of topics like depression, anxiety, LGBTQ+, family and friends, school, STIs and health issues and sports, according to the Clark County website. It can be reached by calling 360-397-2428.
