For the second year in a row, the annual Tree of Memory Dedication ceremony from Jones-Parkview Funeral Services will be shared with families virtually due to pandemic restrictions.
Della Ferguson, funeral celebrant at Jones-Parkview, hopes the service will still be a special event for the friends and families of those who passed away this year, despite the inability to gather together for an in-person dedication.
The ceremony has been pre-recorded and will be made available to view on May 30, through the funeral home’s website.
The tree, which is an Ohio Buckeye tree, has already been planted in Crescent Park, near the Fairford Street East and Langdon Crescent entrance. Jones-Parkview staff included a list of the names being honoured during the process, as well as kind words.
Ferguson said this is the 21st year that the funeral home has held this ceremony, with previous trees planted throughout Crescent Park, Wakamow Valley and Besant Campground.
Typically, the ceremony is held in the park amphitheatre with sometimes as many as 150 people in attendance, and families often take part in the proceedings with music or readings.
“We miss that, and so this is the next best thing we can do,” said Ferguson.
The dedication is a special moment for many, said Ferguson, as it memorializes the many loved ones lost throughout the year with a living monument that will continue growing.
“We represent so many people with this planting, it’s quite amazing the stories they represent,” said Ferguson. “It marks a milestone and that’s why we do this because it's a way of bringing people together for a life-giving ceremony that’s focused on nature, one of the great healers of the heart.”