W.J. Jones & Son Funeral Services will hold their annual Tree of Memory ceremony in-person at the Crescent Park Amphitheatre on Sunday, May 29 at 2 p.m. to honour lives and heal hearts.
“This is our 22nd annual Tree of Memory ceremony,” said Della Ferguson, a funeral celebrant and grief supporter at W.J. Jones & Son. “This is the first one in three years that we’ve been able to do (in person) — the last two years have been virtual. We’re just so grateful that we can invite people to come and partake in this together.”
The ceremony will honour all the people the funeral home has served in the past year: May 21, 2021 to May 20, 2022.
Ferguson said that they welcome anyone who has suffered a loss to come and share in the moment.
The ceremony will start with music from 1:30 p.m. until 2 p.m. with guests Aaron Ruston and Paul Winichuk.
At 2 p.m., there will be a short ceremony to celebrate the lives of those who died this past year. After the ceremony, local bagpiper Michelle Gallagher will play as attendees make their way to where this year’s tree, a Blue Spruce, will be planted.
Families in attendance can choose to put a message of love at the base of the tree during its planting, Ferguson said. Placing messages at the base of the tree has become a tradition during the ceremony.
W.J. Jones & Son have filled spaces throughout the city with memorial trees over the years, beginning in Wakamow Valley, then Besant Park, and now Crescent Park.
“It’s been really hard on people in their grief journey to not be able to gather as community in the ways that we’re used to,” Ferguson said. “We offer this as a healing experience. And it has been very meaningful for people … some people come every year.”
Attendees should dress for the weather and may bring lawn chairs if they wish.
If the weather is poor, the ceremony will be held indoors at the Funeral Home at 474 Hochelaga Street West, and the tree will planted separately.
