2023 Memory Tree (Closed)
Your memories have double the benefit
Share them with the Norwich Lions Club Memory Tree
The Norwich Lions Club is accepting donations to benefit the 19 Days of the Valley, which is an initiative to raise funds for the Upper Valley Haven from December 1 through 19. All donations will be matched by the Jack & Dorothy Byrne Foundation.
We invite you to memorialize those who are special to you with the attractive form (above) that you can download and print by clicking here: Memory Tree.
Or, you can tell us your name and those to be remembered on your own note.
Either mail your remembrance to:
Norwich Lions Club Memory Tree
P.O. Box 854
Norwich, VT 05055-0854
Or, drop it off at the box on the front door of:
Tracy Hall, 300 Main Street
Your optional contribution towards the 19 Days of Norwich will be greatly appreciated. Please make checks out to “Norwich Lions Club”.
Bonnie Munday—retired Norwich Town Clerk—has kindly offered to compile your memorials on a list that she will display in front of Tracy Hall in the New Year.
The tradition of Lions Club memory trees started when our own Phil Wheeler became District 45 governor in 1979 and encouraged clubs in the state to use memory trees to promote the holiday spirit. Norwich has had a memory tree since then, starting with the efforts of Norwich Lions: Joe Grant, Red Logan, Jack Van Horn, Len Cook, Jim Southworth, Bob Huke, and Howie Berryman.
Continuing the tradition were Norwich Lions: George Porter, Bill Osgood, Ed Seaton, Bill Merrill, Earl Thompson, Bill Molloy, and Ed Janeway. More recently, Norwich Lions Rusty Bernal, Robert and Laurie Sabatelle, Demo Sofronas, Jay van Arman, and John Lawe were active participants in providing the tree. The Norwich Historical Society has chronicled the efforts of many of these.
In 2020, Brion McMullan and Debbie Bernal spearheaded the acquisition, placement and decoration of the tree, assisted by Rusty Bernal, Lion King Cheryl Brush, Fran and Gary De Gasta, and Phil Wheeler.
Your donations, matched by the Byrne Foundation, benefit the Upper Valley Haven—a non-profit, private organization that serves people struggling with poverty by providing food, shelter, education, service coordination, and other support.
