New memorial honors Fort Wayne man shot and killed in 2017

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC) - In 2017, Terrance Miles was shot and killed outside of his apartment in Fort Wayne at the age of 36.

Tonight, Miles’s family and friends gathered at the corner of Harmar and Berry Streets to celebrate what would have been Miles’s 41st birthday. On top of the birthday celebration, the family says they were honored that the city allowed them to rename the 800 block of Berry Street to “the Terrance Miles Memorial Parkway”.

“He did a lot of good in the world in his short life, and if he lived another 36 years, it would have been twice as good,” Shirley Miles-Harris, Terrance’s aunt, said. “He’s missed dearly by so many, and he will never be forgotten.”

The family says what made Terrance a great person was how he mentored and encouraged young people in the community. They say that he was passionate about coaching youth football and mentoring kids at the Boys and Girls Club.

“There were so many kids that loved him and wanted to be him, so I know he did a lot of things the right way because of that,” Shirley Miles-Harris said.

The memories the family members share about Terrance, they say, are everlasting. Although his presence is missed, family members say he still manages to inspire them, each and every day.

“Be great, walk in your purpose and walk in your path,” Marquesha Miles, Terrance’s sister, said. “He genuinely, genuinely did that, and I want to mimic that. I use that every day, I think of that every day of my life, to just be great.”

The family says the Terrance Miles Memorial Parkway will help carry on his legacy, forever.

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