Thanksgiving Tree Dedicated

Each year the Tree Wardens’ Association of CT (TWAC) selects a community to be the recipient of the ‘Thanksgiving Tree’. The donated tree is planted in a different town each year in a location of significance and is the Association’s way of saying thank you to Towns and their Tree Wardens.

Three members of the Association attended the tree dedication ceremony, presenting a plaque to mark both the occasion and the tree. Said TWAC spokesperson Leo Kelly, “This gift helps us to educate the public about the mission of the Tree Wardens’ Association and our responsibilities working for the municipalities that we serve.”

Suffield’s Thanksgiving Tree is a Dawn Redwood, and the Tree Committee was pleased to dedicate it in honor of two long-time residents who cared deeply for our Town and our trees.

For those who had the pleasure to call Tom and Nikki Deupree friends, it was an honor to witness the dedication of a tree in their names. Tom and Nikki lived in and loved our Suffield community dearly. Nikki was an active member of the Suffield Garden Club for 38 years working on a variety of committees and special events. Tom, who owned a landscaping company, was very generous with his time to our community’s benefit. He taught tree pruning to Garden Club members and often sent his crew to assist at Town islands removing plants and helping with general cleanup.

Tom and Nikki always offered their help with open hands and wide smiles. Even after moving from Suffield, the Deuprees continued to support planting new trees in Town, and this past year, the Deupree Family Foundation, following in their footsteps, became a generous donor to the Trees for Suffield Fund.

If you’d like to know more about the Trees for Suffield Initiative, visit our page on the Town website at: suffieldct.gov/things-to-do/trees-for-suffield.