Growing Up Amongst the Trees
Susan’s connection to the Better Place Forests Litchfield Hills runs deep. It began in 1982 when her husband, Berkley, an arborist, purchased the land. What was initially intended as a workspace, became their family’s home for forty years.
For Susan who was raised in Connecticut’s wilderness, the forest has always felt like home. “We grew up in a very small house,” recalls Susan. “Most of our time was spent outside exploring and climbing trees where we didn’t feel the constraints of a tiny bedroom,” Susan shares, reflecting on her love for the outdoors.
“Much of our childhood was spent in the woods all around our house. The forest is where we were like monkeys climbing trees. To us, that was our childhood.” -Susan K., Litchfield Hills Memorial Forest, Connecticut
A Lifetime in the Forest
As Susan and her siblings got older, they went their separate ways for college and chosen trades. One of Susan’s brothers became a woodworker, the other a logger, and Susan herself became a forester. “We all have a connection to the woods, to nature, and became very respectful of our environment,” Susan said. Eventually, Susan and her sister Mary moved back to Falls Village to start families and in Susan’s case—purchase the Litchfield Hills forest.
Stewarding the Property Forever
Susan has spent the last 40 years stewarding the land that is now Better Place Forests Litchfield Hills. When Susan found Better Place Forests to take over the property, she was elated. Susan had long feared that the property would be developed and hoped to find an organization as passionate about conservation as herself.
“When this opportunity came up for a Memorial Tree, it was life-changing. It’s just such a different feeling than buying a plot in a cemetery. You can envision yourself becoming a part of nature, part of that ecosystem.” -Susan K., Litchfield Hills Memorial Forest, Connecticut
Finding the Perfect Match
With both of their husbands already passed, Susan and her sister Mary decided to choose a Memorial Tree to share—they knew they were meant to be together. The two couldn’t think of a better way to spend eternity than with the one person who had been there through everything.
Susan recalls, “When I was a forester, I always had jobs in the forest, and Mary would beg to go with me. She just loved spending time out in the woods. Here I am doing plot samples, measuring trees, and counting trees, and she would be the one that would find a skull of some animal, and it would always come home with her in her backpack. She saw the forest for what it was, probably even more than me. What’s that saying? You don’t see the forest for the trees. I saw the trees. She saw the forest. She balanced me. She helped me appreciate things, like the outdoors more.”
The two sisters went out several times scouting the forest for their Memorial Tree. Finally they discovered a white oak tree with a double trunk in a flat meadow—a great spot for friends and family to visit them for generations to come.
“We chose a double-trunk oak tree, which was just perfect—one trunk for each of us. Mary is left-handed and I’m right handed…it just spoke to us!” -Susan K., Litchfield Hills Memorial Forest, Connecticut
Finding Peace
Mary’s recent passing was bittersweet, but knowing her ashes now rest at their forever tree brings peace of mind. Susan explains, “By sharing a tree with Mary, it just gives dying a new dimension. Eventually, our ashes could become combined and we can become part of the same leaf of that tree. It’s just such a nice way of thinking of life after death.” She adds, “Now when I think of dying it just adds another level of peacefulness to the whole experience.”
“It gave Mary comfort knowing we would be at ‘our’ tree—we were meant to be together.” -Susan K., Litchfield Hills Memorial Forest, Connecticut
In Memory of Mary
Spreading Mary’s ashes at their shared tree in an intimate forest memorial ceremony also brought Susan closure. “My heart soared like a hawk as we were gathered at ‘our’ tree,” shares Susan. “I truly felt Mary was now home.” Family and friends gathered to share poignant stories. By sharing fond memories it gave us all a chance to say a final goodbye and allow her to begin her new cycle of life.
