Benefit show to celebrate Shirran’s life and her son’s future

CORNER BROOK — Even the darkest of clouds must have their silver lining, and Rick Waterman is doing his part to salvage something positive from the unfolding tragedy of the murder of Ann Marie Shirran.

Waterman knew Shirran for about 15 years and they even shared a residence in Corner Brook for about seven months at one point.

In fact, when Waterman and his wife April MacDonald found out they were going to have a baby, Shirran was the first person besides the expecting couple to learn about the pregnancy.

Waterman and MacDonald, both of whom have organized numerous benefit concerts in the Corner Brook area in recent years, are organizing a show that will not only serve as a celebration of Shirran’s life, but an opportunity to focus on the future of the one-year-old son left behind.

Trust fund

“A Night for Moses” is scheduled to take place at The Bar Room Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. All proceeds from the night of live musical performances will be donated to a trust fund for Shirran’s son, Moses.

“Ann was our friend, and first hearing the bad news that she was missing was hard enough,” Waterman said. “When we got the really bad news, both April and I had a really rough time with it. That’s why we started doing what we’re doing. Other people have been hurting as well. We want to help Moses specifically, but we want to help people with the healing process.”

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Shirran, 32, had been missing from her home in Kilbride since July 18. Her remains were found Sept. 2. Her boyfriend and Moses’ father, David Folker, has been charged with second-degree murder.

In 1991, Waterman’s older brother Kris died suddenly at the age of 17 and a tribute concert was planned to help generate funds for a scholarship in his memory. Since then, Waterman’s faith in the generosity of community support at such times has been reinforced over and over again with the number of charity events he has been involved with.

He is expecting nothing different this time.

“This one hits especially close to home and we want to help make something good come out of all this badness for Moses when he grows up,” he said, thanking the musicians, technical crew, venue and others who have come forward to help ensure “A Night for Moses” is a rousing success.

The lineup of performers for the show includes Allison Crowe, Sherman Downey and Ambiguous Case, The Funk Party, The Junky Monks, Louis McDonald, Kevin Hamilton, The Flying Flynns, Nathan Locke and Acabella, with more likely to come.

There is a Facebook page named after the event, and both Waterman’s and MacDonald’s profiles have links to it. There will be a PayPal account set up for anyone who would like to contribute to a bank account which will be turned over to Shirran’s family to establish the trust fund for Moses.

While no details have been finalized, it is hoped a memorial service for Shirran being planned for western Newfoundland will be arranged earlier on the day of the benefit show.

That service will be scheduled after plans for Shirran’s funeral have been made, which has yet to happen.

The Western Star