East Granby Christmas Tree Lit in Memory of Jacky Welsh

Invariably, around this time of year, young East Granby resident Jacqueline Welsh would drive around with her parents and ask why her home town didn’t have a Christmas tree like other communities.

“Now we do, Jacky, now we do,” said Jacky’s mother Natalie Welsh at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Jacqueline’s honor on Friday evening.

Jacky Welsh passed away at age 13 on Aug. 8 and the tree and accompanying stone bench, located behind the , were donated in her memory by William H. Wilson, Peter L. Brown and their respective companies.

Natalie Welsh used one of Jacky’s favorite adjectives - “epic” - to describe the 20-foot fir tree; it was a word that might have better described Jacky’s brief life, which included frequent trips to the and Town Hall as well as peeking into finance board, planning and zoning and Cub Scouts meetings.

“By far her favorite part was Election Day,” Natalie told the crowd, which laughed knowingly. “She would sit there and watch the results come in. She lived and breathed in all of the details of East Granby.”

Jacky’s father John, brother Nate, and Natalie subsequently lit the tree, and about 200 people surrounded it and sang carols - most notably “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” a song that John Welsh said that Jacky repeated “over, and over and over and over.”

Prior to the lighting, Patricia Curtis and Father Andrew Giardino, OFM, of Hartford’s St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church offered a blessing of the tree and the Marquis of Granby Ancient Fyfe and Drum corps played “Jingle Bells” and “Frosty the Snowman.”

First Selectman Jim Hayden read a “Thank You” list prepared by the Welsh family that included Wilson, Brown, DPM Electrical for donating the electrical work, Green Machine and the town of East Granby for covering the cost of the trenching for the electrical work, Mary Ellen Brown for organizing the event, the town’s parks & recreation department for sponsoring the event, the Marquis of Granby, Town Hall employees for their donations of baked goods, Susan Mollica and Sally Moon.

“We especially want to thank our neighbors, West Suffield, Granby and East Granby,” Natalie Welsh said. “Thank you for being part of a special place that Jacky called home. Thank you for the love and compassion you have shown over these long months.”