Stough Canyon Park trail to bear name of late Burroughs High student, hiking enthusiast

Shane Colin Proffitt, who started his senior year at John Burroughs High School last fall, loved to bowl at Pickwick Gardens on Wednesdays. He loved to cook on Thursdays. And every weekend, he loved to hike with his mother.

In fact, one Saturday shortly after school started, Nancy Proffitt woke up thinking they were going hiking, she said. Instead, that was the September morning she found her 17-year-old son dead from what she believes was an adverse reaction to medication he had been taking.

Now, Nancy Proffitt hopes hiking will be her son’s legacy. This week, after a discussion that was at times agonizing for Shane’s parents, the Burbank City Council approved naming a hiking trail at Stough Canyon Park in his memory in a 4-1 vote, with only Mayor David Gordon dissenting.

Park and Recreation Director Judie Wilke said there will be a dedication ceremony in a few weeks, once a new sign for the Shane Colin Proffitt Trail has been made. The Proffitts said clients of BCR “a place to grow,” with whom Shane bowled and cooked, would be at the dedication.

Shane, who had diabetes and a seizure disorder, was “like a pin-cushion” with shots of insulin every two hours, Proffitt said. He couldn’t be left alone, tended to constantly by a nurse during the week or by his parents on the weekends — conditions any teen would chafe under — and he had profound autism that brought other challenges, including difficulty communicating.

But on a two-hour hike in Stough Canyon Park, Shane was free, she said, laughing and giggling in awe of nature. And after a hike, “he’d come back with a sense of peace and a sense of renewed energy.”

It’s those things — the awe of nature, the love of life, the sense of peace — that Nancy Proffitt hopes others will experience on the trail that will bear her son’s name, located near the Stough Canyon Park Nature Center at 2300 E. Walnut Ave. She called it “a beautiful place for a beautiful soul.”

Shane’s connection with Stough Canyon Park was strong enough that the family held his memorial there with about 150 friends and family. His school had a tree — a live oak — planted along the 130-foot trail in his memory. Nancy Proffitt said that friends have said they visit the park and the tree in remembrance of Shane.

But she wasn’t certain that the City Council would approve naming the trail after him. Seated with her husband, Bill, in the audience at City Hall, each of them wore pins with Shane’s photo that Nancy Proffitt said she wears everywhere, even to a recent Fleetwood Mac concert.

During the council meeting, she said there were moments when she kicked her husband’s shin, sure the council would deny their request.

Burbank city code sets standards for the naming of public facilities, including criteria that require the person being memorialized be one who made a significant contribution in fields such as health, education, civic involvement, public service or the arts. But the code ultimately gives the council discretion in the matter.

“Shane’s contribution was his living example of the restorative and recreating benefits of being in Burbank parks,” said Jon Barta, a friend of the family and a member of the Park, Recreation and Community Services Board, which had approved the naming proposal before it came to the council.

Bill Proffitt said naming the trail after his son would bring attention to the trails at Stough Canyon Park, much like he said having his memorial service did.

But several council members were concerned that Shane’s contribution didn’t rise to the level set out by code. Councilman Jess Talamantes, who ultimately was the deciding vote on the proposal, said he was initially “on the fence,” over concerns that a rush of other grieving families might come forward seeking to rename city facilities for their loved ones.

Gordon said he could not imagine a greater loss than that of a child, but he said a naming should recognize an “exceptional” contribution. He mentioned Larry Maxam, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and Burbank High School graduate for whom a city park is named, as an example.

Councilwoman Emily Gabel-Luddy disagreed, noting that Shane had only had 17 years to make his contribution and had a disability as well. Plus, she said, “it’s a trail.”

“This is a very small thing,” Gabel-Luddy said. “If it opened the floodgate [of naming requests] I’d say, ‘Wow, we are a city with a big heart.’”