{"id":85080,"date":"2021-06-16T22:49:28","date_gmt":"2021-06-17T02:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=85080"},"modified":"2021-06-18T09:55:25","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T13:55:25","slug":"memories-and-dogwood-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/06\/16\/memories-and-dogwood-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"Memories and Dogwood Trees"},"content":{"rendered":"

The legend of the Dogwood stands for rebirth, purity, and innocence. \u201cWhat dies in the winter is born again in the spring,\u201d said Sharon Pond, the mother of Constance (Connie) Mazzarese, who was killed on June 22, 2019 when she was struck by a drunk driver while bicycling on Route 369 in the Town of Fenton. At the time of the tragic accident, the community, her family, and her classmates mourned.<\/p>\n

Mazzarese, who would have graduated this year from Owego Free Academy, is not forgotten, however, and a Dogwood Tree is now planted on the school grounds in her honor and memory.<\/p>\n

\"Memories<\/a>

Members of the Class of 2021 gather outside for a tree dedication on June 10 in honor and memory of their fallen classmate, Constance (Connie) Mazzarese. In the forefront is Connie\u2019s mom, Sharon Pond. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

On Thursday afternoon, June 10, Connie\u2019s classmates gathered outside on the school grounds to honor their would-be classmate during a tree dedication in her memory, and to offer some more closure for the family.<\/p>\n

\"Memories<\/a>

Sharon Pond, Constance (Connie) Mazzarese\u2019s mom, and Brayden Lynch, Connie\u2019s cousin, address the assembly outdoors on June 10, and at a tree dedication for Connie. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cShe could have graduated this year,\u201d said Connie Henry, who knew Mazzarese through her volunteer work with animals and with Happy Tails. <\/p>\n

Henry added, \u201cShe did a lot of wild animal rescue, too. It was shocking and devastating when it happened. She was just 16 at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Henry noted that Mazzarese also had plans to become a veterinarian, and added, \u201cShe was smart enough that she would have succeeded with the schooling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Memories<\/a>

Ken Francisco, high school principal, offers some words to those that gathered for a tree dedication on June 10 for Constance (Connie) Mazzarese, who was killed on June 22, 2019 when she was struck by a drunk driver while bicycling on Route 369 in the Town of Fenton. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

Ken Francisco, high school principal, offered some words to those that gathered for the tree dedication, and then introduced Connie\u2019s mom to say a few words.<\/p>\n

\"Memories<\/a>

Constance (Connie) Mazzarese\u2019s mom, Sharon Pond, talks to guests about the Dogwood Tree and about her daughter during a tree dedication on June 10 at the Owego Free Academy grounds. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

Tearfully, Sharon Pond spoke mainly of the tree, a flowering Dogwood, and its meaning. Pond noted that her late mother, Beatrice Roberts, was a Sunday School Teacher at a Baptist Church, and always believed that the cross was made out of Dogwood. The tree, and the dedication, held very special meaning for Pond.<\/p>\n

\"Memories<\/a>

Brayden Lynch, cousin to Constance (Connie) Mazzarese and Connie\u2019s mom, Sharon Pond, remove the ribbon from a Dogwood Tree dedicated on the Owego Free Academy grounds on June 10, 2021. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

Joining her was Connie\u2019s nephew, Brayden Lynch, who was out of town when he learned of her death. Brayden took the death hard, and for the ceremony was honored to remove the ribbon from the tree. <\/p>\n

Heath Georgia, a former principal at the school that is now working as a district administrator, attended the ceremony and spoke of Mazzarese.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a nice kid,\u201d said Georgia, adding, \u201cThey put the most beautiful tree out here. I\u2019m glad we could do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Memories<\/a>

A tree was recently planted on the Owego Free Academy School grounds for Abbey Luffman, who fell ill with Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura, a disease that affects the blood. She passed away on Jan. 12, 2020. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

The school dedicated a tree for Abbey Luffman a few weeks ago. Luffman fell ill with Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura, or ITP, a disease that affects the blood, and was unable to recover. She passed away on Jan. 12, 2020. A tree now stands on the school grounds in her memory.<\/p>\n

Also dedicated on the grounds is a tree in remembrance of Kyle Davis, who was killed accidentally while walking east on the railroad tracks at South Depot Street and State Street in Owego when he was struck by an eastbound Norfolk Southern train on May 1, 2019. He was 17 years old and a student at OFA at that time.<\/p>\n

\"Memories<\/a>

Pictured is a tree planted in memory and honor of Kyle Davis, who was killed accidentally while walking east on the railroad tracks at South Depot Street and State Street in Owego when he was struck by an eastbound Norfolk Southern train on May 1, 2019. He was 17 years old and a student at OFA at that time. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

And then there were the Allen\u2019s, Zachary in second grade and Trinity in sixth grade at Owego Schools. Both died following a tragic car accident that occurred on Oct. 20, 2019. <\/p>\n

The children were on their way home from Sayre, Pa. when the vehicle they were riding in first struck a deer and then was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer. Trinity\u2019s family donated her organs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is five kids in two years,\u201d said Georgia.<\/p>\n

He noted that some families wanted to wait until COVID restrictions lifted a bit before the trees were planted and dedicated. <\/p>\n

Now, he added, the beautiful trees will remain on the grounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think, for generations, people will drive by and see it,\u201d said Connie Henry of the tree dedicated to Constance (Connie) Mazzarese, as well as the others.<\/p>\n

\"Memories<\/a>

Following the tree dedication, Sharon Pond, Constance (Connie) Mazzarese\u2019s mother, was flocked by the senior class; a silent gesture of support by the Class of 2021. Provided photo.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The legend of the Dogwood stands for rebirth, purity, and innocence. \u201cWhat dies in the winter is born again in the spring,\u201d said Sharon Pond,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":85084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMemories and Dogwood Trees - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/06\/16\/memories-and-dogwood-trees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Memories and Dogwood Trees - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The legend of the Dogwood stands for rebirth, purity, and innocence. \u201cWhat dies in the winter is born again in the spring,\u201d said Sharon Pond,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/06\/16\/memories-and-dogwood-trees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/The-Owego-Pennysaver-49179420591\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-17T02:49:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-18T13:55:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2021\/06\/Tree4-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1464\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/06\/16\/memories-and-dogwood-trees\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/06\/16\/memories-and-dogwood-trees\/\",\"name\":\"Memories and Dogwood Trees - Owego Pennysaver Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/06\/16\/memories-and-dogwood-trees\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/06\/16\/memories-and-dogwood-trees\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2021\/06\/Tree4-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-17T02:49:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-18T13:55:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/e03684194434956dfb61f5ffcbc19492\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/06\/16\/memories-and-dogwood-trees\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/06\/16\/memories-and-dogwood-trees\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2021\/06\/16\/memories-and-dogwood-trees\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2021\/06\/Tree4-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2021\/06\/Tree4-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1464,\"caption\":\"Pictured next to the tree dedicated to Constance (Connie) Mazzarese, from left, are Keegan Roupp, Erica Roupp, Nathan Armstrong, Jacob Armstrong, Brayden Lynch, Nicole Slater, Emery Neal, Chance Neal, Annette Rhodes, Megan Pond, Aiden Rhodes, and Sharon Pond. 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