Tree dedication ceremony remembers 188 lives lost

By SEAN CHASE SCHASE@THDAILYOBSERVER.CA   LAURENTIAN VALLEY - Under a warm autumn sky, families who have lost a loved one in the past year gathered on a plot of land off Barron Canyon for a solemn but poignant service. The annual Malcolm, Deavitt and Binhammer Memorial Tree Dedication Service saw 188 trees planted, one for each life which has passed since last fall. The traditional service, held in a clearing beside the former Keetna Club, remembers the loved ones whose funerals were conducted by the funeral home throughout the last 365 days beginning with last September. The homily, centred on the theme 'When Death Become Personal,' was delivered by Rev. Stephen Alles, from St. John's Lutheran Church in Pembroke. He reminded those mourning it was the shadow of death which took their loved one and that the precious memories of those lost will be with the survivors always. "Today we gather in this beautiful environment with personal experiences of death and we take great comfort in remembering that we have a personal Lord and saviour," said Rev. Alles. "God not only supports us in our grief but a personal assurance of life with Him, forever."

As Kristen Waymann performed a haunting violin solo, 188 names were read out by Eric Zadow, Helen Hamilton, Bev Godin, Caitlin Renner and Joshua Vardy. Then Mr. Zadow planted a single white pine which served as the ceremonial tree. Each family was also given a seedling to take home.Ron Hamilton, owner and director of Malcolm, Deavitt and Binhammer, explained that such a ceremony helps with the grieving process as families can seek some form of closure. "They seem to appreciate being outside for a nice memorial service," Mr. Hamilton. "It's a nice setting and it gives people a chance, after a number of months, to remember and sit here in peace." The trees are donated by Memory Woods Canada, a company that works with Ontario funeral homes to plant thousands of memorial trees on crown land in and around Algonquin Park. They will be used to reforest either logged areas or areas with windfall damage. The first memorial trees were planted 11 years ago near McManus Lake in Algonquin Park. The type of tree planted will vary depending on the specific area being planted.

11th Annual Memorial Tree Planting, September 22, 2011

In Loving Memory
Kenneth Alexander	Charles Drew	Ralph King	Evelyn Risto
Timothy Archambeault	Elwyn Duchrow	Rudolf Kodrzynski	Jean Roesler
Gordon Arseneau	Dorothy Duncan	Delbert Krantz	Percy Rosamond
Gertrude Atkins	Donald Dupont	Stanley Kranz	Elma Roundell
John Balfour	Reginald Dupuis	David Kruger	Katherine Russell-Richard
Adeline Barber	Clara Engyel	Ernest Lair	Maria Saar
John Bennett	Katherine Ettinger	Doris Laughren	Gordon Sadler
Eric Beskau	Roy Fabian	Lucreta Law	Brigitte Sampson
Joyce Bielecki	Michael Fallon	Kevin Law	Bernard Schroeder
Karoline Bielecki	Norma Farr	Joyce Leach	Robert Scott
William Bourne	Richard Fischer	Judy Lee	George Scovill
Patricia Bowden	Earl Fischer	Linda Lisk	Pearl Sell
Roy Brash	Lillian Fletcher	Ralph Logan Jr.	Pierrette Simms
Brian Briscoe	Evelyn Freeman	Shelley Macari	Bernice Sparling
George Brown	Earl Gardiner	David MacKenzie	West Spicer
Sandra Brown	Violet Garrett	Angus MacKinnon	Doris Splaine
Norman Brum	Lorna Gauthier	Mary Madden	Michael Stencell
Louis Buch	Bruce Giesebrecht	Margaret Matthews	Isobella Stencill
Gordon Bucholtz	Arthur Giles	Max Mau	James Stewart
Arthur Bucholtz	Barbara Goldberg	Freda Maves	Gwendolyn Stewart
Jean Budgen	Neil Goldberg	Shirley Maves	Melvin Stewart
Elwood Burgess	Diana Goldberg	Henry McBride	Codie Stewart
Elizabeth Campbell	Jalna Goss	Kathryn McNair	Susan Strong
Joan Carter	Phillip Grady	William McQuirter	Dr. Norman Sutherland
Gertrude Cleveland	Shirley Gram	Doreen Meredith	Rose Swartzentruber
Jesse Clifton	Ida Griffith	Rachel Merredew	Ethel Tait
Michael Clouthier	Dianne Grove	Mary Moodycliffe	Diane Taylor
Robert Cochrane	Karl Gust	Lawrence Morrison	Sonja Teschner
Elvin Coffey	Margaret Guyea	Edgar Moss	Harold Thom
Diana Coffey	Violet Hamilton	Maria Mueller	Bonnie Thomas
Margaret Cook	Laurie Hammel	David Myers	Kathleen Torbitt
Olive Cotnam	Ernest Hammel	Lucy Nieman	Robert Van Wert
Gordon Court	Mona Heubner	Gerald Nieman	Raymond Virtue
Ralph Cowan	Kenneth Hier	Mary Nieman	Claude Wagner
Leanne Craigie	Laura Hightower	Robert Noble	Sarah Waito
David Cree	Waltraud Homma	Eleanor Olmstead	Agnes Walters
Robert Curtis	Donald Howell	Gary Palmer	Ronald Webb
Hilton Dauncey	Joyce Jackson	William Perry	Leonid Weigelin
Robert Dettrich	Lillian Jamieson	Mary Pietersma	Lynn White
Joan Dingle	Kimberly Jones	William Prescott	Dorothea Witt
Roger Dion	Philip Jones	Kathleen Price	Edmund Wodzak
Rev. Ralph Dipple	Garnet Junop	Helen Radtke	Marion Woermke
Arthur Dixon	Leona Junop	Darcy Rahn	Sherri-Lynn Young
Arlene Dixon	Beverly Jurgens	Margaret Rawlins	Earl Yuke
Kenneth Dodds	Mary Karau	Elmer Recoskie
Abife Doran	James Kennedy	Harold Richardson

Memory Woods Canada (http://www.memorywoods.com)