WS Chronicle

On Monday, May 31, family, friends, and other loved ones of the late Te’Ore Terry gathered at the CVS Pharmacy on 4th Street to celebrate his life and legacy with the unveiling of a memorial portrait at the entrance of the store where he worked for many years.  

At around 8 a.m. on Sunday Feb. 14, officers with the Winston-Salem Police Department (WSPD) found Terry, 35, lying face down with a gunshot wound in a parking lot on Coliseum Drive. Officers on the scene reported that Terry was robbed of his keys and jewelry. 

Those who knew him well described Terry as “the heart and soul of the downtown CVS.”

Shortly after his murder was made public, Susan Pollock, who lives downtown and knew Terry from her many visits to the CVS on 4th Street, initiated the memorial project. She said, “Te’Ore was such a lovely individual and I wanted to honor his personality and good nature. He made everyone happy with whom he came in contact with and I hope this memorial will give his friends and family some comfort in their sorrow.”

Initially, a group of artists agreed to create a mural in Terry’s memory in the downtown area, but organizers couldn’t find any available space, so they decided to go with a portrait of Terry instead. 

Local artist, Kim Thore, started by drawing several different portraits of Terry and his mother chose which one she liked best. The finished product is a 50’’x40’’ vibrant graffiti-like picture of Terry located near the entrance of the CVS. Funds raised through a GoFundMe page set up in Terry’s honor made the portrait possible and funds that were left over were presented to the family during the unveiling. 

Thore said she hopes the portrait helps remind people of how special Te’Ore was. “When I found out the news, I didn’t have any words to express my grief, so as an artist, I started painting portraits of him and someone shared it with his mom, who I had met a year earlier but didn’t know she was Te’Ore’s mother,” Thore continued. 

“The general consensus with everyone who knew him as this wonderful man who was nice to everyone … I feel Te’Ore’s presence every day. I feel that there’s someone smiling at me with that big, beautiful smile he had and I hope by this memorial, people will know what a wonderful man he was.” 

Left to cherish Terry’s memory are his mother Velma Elizabeth Terry; four brothers, Troy, Te’von, Darrell, and Douglas; and two sisters, Tori and Cori. After the portrait was unveiled, Terry’s mother took a moment to admire the vibrant portrait of her son. While wiping tears away from her eyes, she said, “It’s beautiful … it looks just like him,”

At the time of publication, no arrests have been made in the murder of Te’Ore Eugene Terry. Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to contact the WSPD or Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800.