MacPherson Funeral Home and Sutfin Chapel of Newark Valley and Nichols, since their affiliation with the Lofty Oaks Association, have been responsible for the planting of 1,000 trees on public lands in New York and Pennsylvania, as living memorials to honor the deceased.

This program is part of a large endeavor to restore the landscape and environment with the eternal beauty of living trees. The memorial trees are planted in the spring and the fall.

After each service, close family members and friends are informed that the memorial tree has been arranged for by these funeral homes. Once certified nurserymen have planted the tree, the designated relatives and friends will be sent an official certificate of planting suitable for framing and keeping in the family's history forever.

This living memorial is an example of the new innovative approach being taken by the funeral directors profession as a whole, and by David, Carol, and Jody Cooley of the MacPherson Funeral Home and Sutfin Chapel in particular, to contribute to their community and the environment.