Dozens of families gathered Thursday to honor loved ones lost by way of a memorial tree lighting ceremony at Medicor Associates in Fredonia. Hospice of Chautauqua County is in the fifth year of the program, three years of which have been jointly recognized here in Fredonia and in Jamestown.
"Christmas to me is a time that we all bond together and the glue that kind of dissipates during the year when we get busy with life, this is the time of year when it all comes together and you re-solidify our connections," said Ron Sellers, President and Chief Executive Officer for Hospice of Chautauqua County, to the gathered families. "We want these trees to symbolize that simple thought which we would carry in our hearts all year but what we don't always carry in our minds because we forget."
Outside the Medicor office on Center Street, a Christmas tree is trimmed in red ribbons, decorations and lights. Each ribbon symbolizes a loved one from a family who purchased the ribbon through Hospice.
"Families can send $2 which goes to cost of ribbon only. They can be purchased by calling 753-5383," Sellers said.
The ribbon includes the name of the loved one and it is also something, if the family so desires, that can be taken home and placed on their own Christmas trees. The goal, Sellers said, is to light and decorate the six other trees around the building.
"Our vision for these trees is to every holiday season have them festooned with red ribbons that signify the bonds that we have with all of our family members, friends, loved ones and associates who are no longer with us," he said. "We do it at Christmas time not because it's a holiday season as much as it is the time of year we remember what we had, and we take a step back and reflect emotionally on fond memories."
This years tree was lit by the family of Ann K. Nolloth, one Sellers said Hospice was very close with.
"We're having the tree lit by a family we're very close with and a family we think about every year," he said. "Who do we want to honor and who do we want to symbolize what the tree that we're lighting means."
"I often hear people tell me death has taken a loved one from them," Bereavement Coordinator Jamie Probst added during the ceremony. "Although death seems to have the power to take someone physically from us, it does not have the power to take someone from our lives. With that in mind this memorial tree serves as a symbol to all of the world that we have not forgotten, no matter how much time has passed."
The second tree was lit by the family of Betty Sheldon on Friday at the Hospice Office in Lakewood. Ribbon placement will continue now until Christmas, contact Hospice of Chautauqua County for more details.
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