Woman's Christmas wish is granted with memory tree in Sudbury to remember loved ones

A woman, who wanted a festive tree in Sudbury town centre to remember loved ones by, has had her Christmas wish granted.

The suggestion by Suzy White for a memory tree – where people can display ornaments with messages to their deceased loved ones – has been adopted by the town council.

Last year, Suzy, from Jubilee Road, Sudbury, wanted to hang a bauble in memory of her late son, Shane Deveraux, 26, from Long Melford, on the town’s tree.

She said: “When I was walking through the town, I had this idea to put a bauble on the Christmas tree in memory of Shane. When you lose a son, you want everyone to remember him.

“Now that it’s actually happening, I could cry. It’s so lovely and such a good thing because it also raises money for charity. I will definitely be doing it.”

The 15 foot high Sudbury Memory Tree will be sited on the Old Market Place, near Santander.

It will be in addition to the town’s traditional tree, which has been situated near the Gainsborough statue on Market Hill for the past three years.

When the Christmas tree lights are turned on come November 29, the memory tree will be lit up, too – in red.

On it will be hundreds of gold-coloured ornaments in the shape of hearts, baubles and stars carrying messages.

Teresa Elford, events co-ordinator and mayor’s secretary at Sudbury Town Council’s, said: “Last year, Suzy wanted to put a glass bauble on our tree so we wanted to make a memory tree this year.

“We have both the tree and the decorations sponsored, so there has been no outlay by the council.

“All the decorations have been made from plywood and have been sprayed with gold, water-proof paint. We will be asking people to send us their messages which we will get printed and put on the decoration and get it attached to the tree.

“The decorations range in size and the hearts and baubles have a 20-word message limit, and the star has a 10-word limit.

“We are suggesting a £5 minimum donation per decoration, and all the proceeds are going to St Nicholas Hospice Care.

“The memory tree offers a chance to remember a loved one in a very special way and will be incorporated into our Christmas tree light switch-on ceremony,” she added.

Mrs White said she thought the idea would be very popular at Christmas.

She said: “It will bring the whole community together and I think people will like the chance to remember their loved ones.

“It’s made my day to hear that we will have a memory tree in Sudbury.”

The deadline for the council to receive messages for the tree will be December 16, and the council said it will start taking orders for messages in a few weeks’ time.

If you would like to have a decoration on the tree, email memorytree@sudburytowncouncil.co.uk.