The Greenbrier Valley Angel Tree is returning after Thanksgiving this year.
Roger Honaker, a founder and coordinator for the memorial, announced on November 23 that he “went to the Greenbrier Valley Airport today to speak with [Airport Chief Financial Officer] Martha Livesay and we walked around to pick out the tree spot. The Angel Tree will be in front of the big windows overlooking the runway.”
Each year since 2011, the Greenbrier Valley Angel Tree has provided a way for families and friends to honor, mourn, and remember their loved ones, and a sense of community for those who have lost someone. Each individual ornament was placed by someone honoring another they were close to.
“There’s always a lot of tears,” Honaker previously explained to The West Virginia Daily News. “There are so many on there that are not just natural deaths … or that are taken unexpectedly. There are many tragedies. … It started on Facebook [in 2011]. Several young people had died … and someone had posted that we should hang an ornament on our own tree at home. That would be a good way to remember those people. It just bloomed from there.”
After the tree is placed, it gathers ornaments from those looking to honor their loved ones. For the first several years, the tree was placed at the Greenbrier Valley Mall, but now it has moved to the Greenbrier Valley Airport.
“This year’s tree will be ready for your ornaments on Friday, November 25,” Honaker said. “The Airport requires a mask to enter the lobby, so please bring your own mask – security is on duty. [I am currently] posting some ornaments from past Angels on [social media].”
Last year’s Angel Tree Candlelight Vigil. |
Then, each year on December 26, a candlelight service is held, with several preachers speaking on loss. This year, the service will take place on Monday, December 27, at 6:30 p.m. in front of the tree itself. This year, Brother Joey Terry and Pastor Kenny Baker will be performing the Eulogy Commendation. This year also marks Baker’s 9th year with the ceremony.
Last year, the ceremony honored the fire children lost in a December 2020 Williamsburg fire. As reported in the Mountain Messenger, Baker and Terry both spoke during the ceremony, offering memories of loved ones lost, visions of the future, and condolences for those hurting.
“It’s an honor to be here with you, to see the many of you who have been coming down every year,” said Kenny Baker. “Those here for the first time tonight, we welcome you. There are many circumstances you could be here for tonight, many have gone on this past year and it seems like our country today has been hit so hard with this virus. Every day, even in our county, many more have left this world.”
“Every ornament on this tree represents someone’s life,” said Joey Terry. “We don’t know everybody that’s hanging on this tree, but don’t you know that God did? God knows each person that’s hanging on that tree. … As we light these five candles in memory of and in honor of Shaun, Haiken, Aarikyle, Riley, and Kian. We light one for grief, one for courage, one for memories, one for love, and one for hope.”
Each year when speaking with The West Virginia Daily News, Honaker emphasizes that the tree is for the community to come together and support one another through the most difficult time that there is – when losing a loved one.
“That’s not my tree,” Honaker said. “ I put it up every year but it’s not my tree, it’s their tree.”
The Greenbrier County Angel Tree page can be found on Facebook.
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