PORT NECHES — The holiday season can be especially tough for people who have lost loved ones.

Twelve years have passed since Missy Granger’s mother died and 13 have passed since Deborah Landrum’s father passed away. Thoughts turn to those family members especially during the holidays.

On Thursday, Granger and Landrum left the office where they work at Oak Bluff Memorial Park in Port Neches and drove to the cemetery’s nearby mausoleum. While inside each woman penned a special note to their loved ones that they then placed upon a memorial tree.

“It’s a small gesture that means a lot,” Granger, service counselor manager, said.

Oak Bluff Memorial Park, 101 Block St. in Port Neches, along with Melancon’s Funeral Home, are once again sponsoring a memorial tree where people can jot down a message for their loved ones and place it on the tree.

“It’s very special for me to be able to honor him at Christmas time,” Landrum said of her father.

Holiday cards are available in the Tranquility Mausoleum that families can fill out and hang on the tree. Clear and colored bulb ornaments are also available. Mourners and family members can write on the paper and place it in the bulb for placement on the tree.

The loved one does not have to be interred at Oak Bluff, Granger said.

“This is a way to pay tribute to loved ones,” she added.

The memorial tree will be located in the mausoleum through Jan. 6.

E-mail: mary.meaux@panews.com

Twitter: MaryMeauxPANews