Page 11 - Small Shops of Sonoma County 2018

Honoring Loved Ones with a Bench, Picnic Table, a Tree...
Sonoma County Regional Parks picnic tables and benches are ideal for tributes to loved ones, or to celebrate a milestone event. Do you want to honor a family member or friend with a gift that supports our parks?
The Parks Foundation offers the following options for honoring a loved one: • A commemorative picnic table, bench or hitching post
• A donation to the Foundation’s “Tree Fund”
• A unique mosaic tile section at the Spring Lake Park Children’s Memorial
Grove
• A plaque at the Gualala Point Park Visitor Center wind wall
• Significant tributes, such as sponsoring a group picnic area or campsite If you have any questions regarding the program, please contact Pam
McBride at (707) 565-1355 or pam.mcbride@sonoma-county.org.
Please visit our website sonomacountyparksfoundation.org for how you can give a gift that spreads joy and supports out parks.
Every commemorative in our parks has a story:
In May 1970, an Air Force plane crashed in what is now Tolay Lake Regional Park. Decades later, the sole survivor, retired Air Force Capt. George Burk, wanted to create a lasting memorial to the military heroes who perished nearby. Burk was rescued by a rancher, John Davieau, who was driving by and saw the accident. The bench was dedicated in 2014 by Burk and surviving family members. Three plaques were placed on the bench, two in memory of
the servicemen, and one honoring the life- saving encounter of Burk and Davieau.
When Sheila Ferguson wanted to create a tribute to her beloved spouse Toni D’Angelo, it didn’t take long to choose one of the Regional Parks as the appropriate site. While setting up a tribute to Toni, Sheila recalled that Toni had also wanted a remembrance for her friend Theresa “Donatella” DeCaro. Ultimately, the ideal solution was two picnic tables near each other at Doran Regional Park, as though Toni and Donatella were resting by the coast.
A Veteran’s Quest - A Bench
Friends Together on the Coast - A Picnic Table
Doran Regional Park also proved to be a fitting site because Donatella was a dedicated advocate for organ donation. Doran is just a short distance from the Children’s Bell Tower, erected in honor of Nicholas Green, a young Bodega Bay resident who was killed in Italy and became an inspiration for organ donors around the world.
Commemorative Tree Fund
Donations are $100 each and result in a certificate acknowledging that a tree will be planted in honor or in memory of an individual. Donations are held in a fund until Regional Parks needs to plant a tree or trees in one of the county parks. Unfortunately, we are not typically able to designate your tree fund donation for a particular tree or park. We can, however, mail a copy of a special certificate to an individual to let him or her know of your donation.
The Parks Foundation is collaborating with youth arts organization Artstart to bring colorful, personalized, commemorative mosaic tile sections to the concrete bench at the Children’s Memorial Grove in Spring Lake Park. This is a wonderful opportunity for a family to honor their child’s life or the life of a loved one of any age with a long-lasting and meaningful work of art, while helping young people fulfill their art dreams.
Spring Lake Park Children’s Memorial Grove - A Mosaic
There are three locations that families/friends can choose from to place their mosaic. First is at the row of planters located on the path to the Memorial Grove. Second is located on the backside of the circular cement seating area. And third is located on the front side of the circular seating area. The front of the cement seating area is reserved strictly for someone’s child who has left this life too early. The back of the seating area and the planters are open to memorialize someone of any age.
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