Rose Hills opens Covid-19 memorial

WHITTIER — A Covid-19 memorial opened at Rose Hills Memorial Park on Tuesday and will remain open through the end of April. 

The memorial is located in the Garden of Meditation, accessible via Gate 1 off Workman Mill Road. 

“Our Covid-19 memorial serves as a place of healing, a place of comfort and a place to remember,” Rose Hills said in a statement. “With over 1,600 Rose Hills families directly affected and over 20 million Southern California residents impacted, we felt the need to create a space for our community to find comfort in knowing they are not alone.” 

The memorial features a grove of trees physically distanced to represent the 2020 experience. More than 1,600 reflective hearts and stars hang from the trees, representing a person lost to Covid-19 and interred at Rose Hills. 

“Their reflective light serves as a reminder of those who once brought light into our lives,” Rose Hills said. 

Members of the public are invited to choose a heart or star from one of the trees and write a message or memory in honor of a loved one. 

The star or heart should be placed back on the tree “so that others may find the strength, comfort and peace in knowing they are not alone.”