In working with people to "Create Meaningful
Events that Celebrate Life"® in the loss of their loved
one, we often experience things which leave a lasting memory
for all who experience them. In the following paragraphs,
read how one family chose to celebrate the life of their
loved one.
| She had loved nature and gardening...the
family hoped to have a memorial service outside at Wilder
Forest. |
It was a warm spring day. Sunlight danced
off the pine needles in the forest while people made their
way down an earthy path. The people who were gathering in
a circle around the open fire pit all had a common thread
that had brought them together today. They were coming together
for what some might call a funeral service and yet it was
the most unique service they had ever attended. It was a
gathering of family and friends to reminisce, acknowledge,
and celebrate the life of someone who had touched many people
in very unique ways.
She loved nature and gardening. She had
been an active volunteer in the Master Gardener Program
and a member of the MN State Horticultural Society where
she designed the garden at the entrance to the MN State
Horticultural Building. She designed and maintained, with
her friends, a beautiful wheelchair garden for residents
of the former Langton Place Gardens in Roseville. A founding
member of the Lilies of the Valley Garden club and Friends
of the Park in Stillwater, she was also a member of the
MN Native Plant Society and the North American Rock Garden
Society. It was only fitting that the place suggested for
her memorial service was Wilder Forest located in Marine
on St. Croix, MN.
| The family put together a perfect
tribute to their wife and mother... |
Wilder Forest is a year-round camp and
education center owned and operated by the Amherst H. Wilder
Foundation, an organization that serves nonprofit organizations
in the greater St. Paul area. The organization's brochure
on Wilder Forest states "Use of the camp is restricted to
educational, social, cultural and other nonprofit organizations
that have made advance reservations for programs at Wilder
Forest." When our funeral director placed a call to Wilder,
the person who answered the phone was a bit hesitant. When
it was explained that the woman who died had loved nature
and was an avid gardener and that the family hoped to have
a memorial service outside at Wilder Forest, the staff agreed
to hold the service on their grounds.
The family put together a perfect tribute
to their wife and mother as was reflected in the service
booklet containing several poems on gardening, music for
all to sing, and an order of service which included a very
memorable time in which friends told marvelous stories about
special times spent with her.
The cover of the service booklet was of
an "earthy" brown paper with black daisies outlined on the
front. it was tied together with rami. Along with songs
"Amazing Grace," "In the Garden." and "For the Beauty of
the Earth," a beautifully-written poem was read.
What a fitting and memorable tribute to
an individual whose life was devoted to the wonders of nature
and joys of gardening!
