Bench dedicated to honor son

The Panhandle Butterfly House has a brand new bench for visitors thanks to the Feinburg family of Navarre.

Mike and Debra Feinburg donated the new bench in honor of their son Jake Feinburg, 31, who died three years ago from an accidental prescription drug overdose after having neck surgery. Mike said the bench was reminiscent of the same pristine benches found on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan where the family is originally from.

Debra said the first time she visited the Butterfly House and the turtle pond she was reminded of her son.

“Ever since he was very little he fell in love with turtles,” she said. When the family moved to Navarre from New York in 2006, they put a small pond in the backyard with a few fish, but the first time Jake visited his parents he told them something was missing from the pond.

“He said ‘Mom your pond is boring. It needs some turtles,” Debra recalled. The next week she said UPS delivered a package to her home with two small turtles. She named them Sweetie Pie and Scooter. It was Jake’s last gift to his parents before he died.

For more of this story, see the Nov. 24 issue of Navarre Press or subscribe online.