Former Colleagues Of Botham Jean Honor His Memory With Piece Of Art
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) — The Amber Guyger trial may be over, but Botham Jean's former colleagues want his memory to live forever. This week, PricewaterhouseCoopers unveiled several permanent keepsakes in its Dallas office as a tribute to Jean.
To his colleagues, he was Bo — an accountant at PwC, and an intern before that, with a perpetual smile.
Scott Moore, a managing partner with PwC, said Jean was a person who never had a bad day.
"I wanted something that would capture that beautiful smile and that personality that he brought to the office everyday," Moore said.
Jean's likeness now hangs on the building's 20th floor, a welcome sign of sorts in a bustling new office he never got to see. Local artists Norman Lee and Shane Allbritton strove to create a piece that embodied all of him.
"They wanted to do a piece that was made out of wood, very symbolic," Moore said. "Wood is a warm material."
He also said the artists wanted to capture some of his St. Lucia roots and approachable spirit.
"The artist had encouraged people that it's something you can touch, and that people should touch it, right? That warmth it has in it," he said.
But the portrait isn't the only tribute to Jean. Just one day after his death, a colleague requested that the building's new Design Experience Center be named after him.
"In this room is where we're going to work together to make a difference with our clients and our people, so I think it's just very significant — the fact that Bo made such a difference — and that's what we're trying to replicate in this room," he said. "It's just pretty amazing what somebody can do in such a short period of time and make such an impact."
PwC also raised more than $600,000 for a scholarship fund at Jean's alma mater, Harding University. Four students received their first scholarship just last month.