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A family tree for Christmas

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Leander Christmas tree has deep-rooted meaning for family

The story of Leander's new Christmas tree begins at the end of another story.

There once was a girl named Shelli who had a smile so bright it could light up a room. It's hereditary.

Shelli is gone, but her memory lives on in Leander and will shine throughout the holiday season.

A Leyland Cypress tree is planted behind the Pat Bryson Municipal Auditorium as a memorial to Shelli Shannon Guillot, who unexpectedly, and much too soon, passed away on New Year's Day this year. Shelli was 34.

The cypress will serve as the new Christmas tree for the city of Leander. The official tree lighting will be around 6 p.m. on Saturday, or shortly after the annual Christmas parade. For Leander court administrator Barbara Shannon, the tree is more than just a living memory of her daughter.

“I walk out of this office every day and it's the first thing I see,” Barbara said. “And I think it's a great idea to also have it double as our city's Christmas tree.”

The story began on Dec. 22, 2007, when Shelli came down with the flu. She was living with her husband and children in Haughton, La., just east of Bossier City. Her condition worsened and she went to the doctor on Dec. 27, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia, given antibiotics and sent home. Two days later, she had trouble breathing and was rushed to the hospital. She passed away on Jan. 1, 2008 from complications of influenza encephalitis.

A little more than a month later, Shelli's family asked the city of Leander if a tree could be planted in her memory. Leander has a memorial tree program that allows a family to pay about $300 to the parks and recreation department, which finds a tree to accommodate the family's wish and plant it in a city park. The Shannons originally wanted a tree in Robin Bledsoe Park.

“The kind of tree they wanted just didn't seem to be the right tree in the right place,” Leander Parks and Recreation Director Steve Bosak said. “So we all just brainstormed to see what we could come up with.”

What happened next came out of nowhere to them.

“Steve Bosak said, ‘I don't know what you would think of this, but here's an idea. What if we find an evergreen and then plant it behind Pat Bryson Auditorium and have it double as our city Christmas tree,'” Barbara said. “We all thought it was a wonderful idea.”

With some consulting help from Cathy Clark-Ramsey, the nursery manager at Farmer's Grass & Nursery in Leander, a Leyland Cypress was chosen.

“It's a tree that does well in drought conditions and hot, dry conditions, and we wanted a big tree,” said Bosak.

But a big Leyland Cypress doesn't come cheap. That's when Barbara's brother, John Raney, and his wife Diana lobbied the family and raked in $900 in no time at all. And on Sept. 20, 2008, the family dug the hole and planted the tree.

As of Thursday, the parks and recreation department had installed the last of the 650 lights that will illuminate this tree. Since the tree will grow an estimated 1 to 3 feet per year and eventually get as tall as 50 feet, more lights will be added each year.

Shelli was born in Austin on May 27, 1973, to Freddie and Barbara Shannon. A few years later, the family moved to Houma, La. Shelli graduated high school in Houma and went to Louisiana Tech, where she was a powerlifter, a cheerleader and the eventual owner of three different degrees, including bachelor's in sociology and accounting. She was a certified public accountant in Shreveport when she passed away. She was buried in Louisiana, which makes having a memorial tree in Leander even more special to the Shannons.

“It's nice to have her memory here,” said Barbara, who also buried Shelli's picture and one of Shelli's business cards in the hole along with the roots of the tree.

Before Shelli's wake, her co-workers put together two scrapbooks to present to her husband, Eric Guillot, and to the Shannons. Each one was identical, with photos of Shelli and her friends and each was signed in the back.

“Every one of them wrote about her smile and how it could light up a room,” Barbara said.

Now her memory plays a part in lighting up the town every Christmas.

E-mail editor@hillcountrynews.com

This story was originally published on December 5, 2008.

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