Vandals damage memorial tree for late wife at Springbank Park for second time

When J.B. Orange bought a memorial tree for his wife to be planted in Springbank Park, his hope was the tree would be the source of some happiness after such a painful loss.

"I thought it would be a nice memorial to have a commemorative tree planted here in her honour in an area that she and I both loved," said Orange.

The spot the 69-year-old chose is at the east end of London's Springbank Park near the pumphouse, close to the path where he and his wife Nadia Amadio regularly walked together with the family dog.

Orange continues to walk and run along the path a few times each week, which is part of the Thames Valley Parkway.

Their 39 years of marriage ended in the summer of 2023 when Nadia, who was 65, died of brain cancer. Amadio was a retired pharmacist and the time between her diagnosis and death was only a few weeks.

"It was a huge blow," said Orange. "I lost by best friend."

In October of 2024 Orange paid $500 to have a tree planted in Nadia's honour through the city's memorial tree program. The city accepts 20 applications a year for memorial trees to be planted in select parks, environmentally sensitive areas and city-owned golf courses.

Shortly after the first tree was planted, Orange came by to find Nadia's tree had been vandalized. The thin branches of the young tulip tree had be stripped off and strewn on the grass.

The city's memorial program has a two-year warranty period which covers the replacement of any tree if it dies within two years of planting. City arborists told Orange they'd have to wait until spring of this year and replace the tree if it didn't survive. It didn't, and the tree was replaced with a new one planted last month.

Then on Thursday, Orange was running along the path, glanced over at the tree and was horrified to again see that it had been vandalized. The replacement tree's branches had again been pulled off the trunk and left on the ground. Other young trees in the park planted at the same time had similar damage. The trees higher than two meters off the ground were intact; the ones below that level had been pulled off.

Orange said city arborists expressed their condolences and are waiting to see if the tree survives the winter before replacing it.

“It’s of course senseless," said Orange. "Whomever did this is immature and foolish. They’ve lashed out against Mother Nature and us, particularly our family, as we pay tribute to her. It’s unimaginably cruel.” 

Orange said he has nothing but praise for the city staff he's dealt with in response to the damage. He wanted to tell his story so others considering a memorial tree are aware they could be exposing themselves to a painful shock if the tree is vandalized.

At the same time, he also doesn't want to deter anyone from buying a memorial tree. The city's memorial program has other options, including a park bench and plaque on the memory wall at Springbank Park’s Graham Arboretum. Those options however, are more expensive. A memory wall plaque costs $1,500. A memorial park bench is $4,500.