‘Unfinished’ piece of artwork completed in honor of Deputy Vela
DYERSBURG, Tenn. — It has been more than a week since the loss of Madison County Deputy Rosemary Vela, who was killed in a tragic car accident in the line of duty. Deputies Vela’s honor continues to be carried around by the thousands who will remember her. On some, it is permanent. “I thought it was the best way possible to pay tribute to her,” Noah Morris said. It was at a small tattoo shop in Dyersburg known as Regicide Tattoo Studio where Deputy Vela planned to get her first tattoo. “She wanted to get a ‘Day of the Dead’ skull or a ‘sugar skull’ with roses,” Morris said. Those tattoos are popular in Hispanic culture and carry multiple meanings of the celebration of life and of memories left behind by loved ones. “She was full of life. She was very enthusiastic about getting the tattoo,” Morris said. “She sat there like a champ, like it wasn’t her first tattoo, and didn’t flinch a bit.” But after her first session that took multiple hours, sadly it was her last. “This is the first time I have ever done anything to try to do the exact same tattoo for somebody who never had the chance to get it finished,” Morris said. It was days later when Morris said Deputy Vela’s boyfriend contacted him about getting a tattoo in his girlfriend’s honor. “I looked at the old picture of her tattoo and laid it out in similar fashion so it would match as much as possible as to hers,” Morris said. And then by the tip of a needle dabbed in ink, a colorful memory of Deputy Vela was completed, to be carried around forever. “It’s a cliche, but it’s something where you have to live life to the fullest,” Morris said. “When you saw Rosemary and you interacted with her, you knew she was definitely a person that did this to the fullest.” Deputy Vela was 24 years old and left behind a 5-year-old son. Donations to the Rosemary Vela Memorial Fund can be sent to the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation.
