Since 1999, Gilbert MacIntyre & Son have been participating in the annual memorial service at the Rockwood Conservation Area. This is a nature-based program to help families experiencing loss have a new way to work through grief and to honour their loved ones.
“The families we serve seem to be very appreciative of this program,” explains Peter MacIntyre. “The long-running program is made possible through a partnership among The MacIntyre family, the GRCA and the Grand River Conservation Foundation. We make a contribution to Rockwood Conservation Area on behalf of each family we serve. Each contribution becomes a footprint on the Memorial Trail. On the first Sunday of June, our funeral home hosts a memorial service on site to honour those memorialized here during the past year.”
This year’s service is on June 4 at 2:30 pm.
The Rockwood Conservation Area at 161 Fall St., Rockwood, Ontario features limestone cliffs and one of the world’s largest glacial potholes. More than 65,000 visitors each year come to canoe, hike, sit by the ponds, fish or enjoy an event on the site of the preserved Old Mill.
For families with a footprint on the Memorial Trail, the Conservation Area brings hope and healing through remembrance.
Having a quiet place in nature to reflect and grieve is of great comfort to the families mourning a loss.
“A permanent record of the people remembered here is kept in a kiosk in the Family Memorial Area,” says Peter. “Long after the last family member passes and nobody is left to visit a particular footstep on the trail, the memory of that person is not lost to time. Our generational family home will continue to return here annually to remember and honour your lost loved ones.”
The Rockwood Memorial Trail is open to everyone. It is a quiet oasis away from the more active areas of the Conservation Area. Access the Trail by crossing the Eramosa River bridge and continuing past the Upper Mill Dam.
To learn more about this or about Gilbert MacIntyre & Son, visit them online.