Maine man to be buried in casket made from tree he revered

From the Boston Herald:

The man who spent the last years of his life fighting in vain to save Herbie, the oldest known American elm tree in New England, made his living in the forestry business, clearing and selling trees across southern Maine.

Yet Knight, who died Monday at the age of 103, valued trees for their natural beauty and spent more than 50 years protecting the town’s street trees as Yarmouth’s volunteer tree warden.

"He used to joke that he probably took down more trees than he saved," said Deb Hopkins, Knight’s friend and the tree warden who took his place 10 years ago.

"But he did save a lot of trees," Hopkins said. "Herbie was the apple of his eye. He was passionate about that one tree because it was so beautiful."

Knight died Monday morning in hospice care in Scarborough. A celebration of his life will be scheduled in the next few days, and Knight will be buried in a hand-crafted casket made from Herbie’s wood.

photo by Tori Milan via Flickr via GreenFudge.org

Full story.