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KINGWOOD — The family of the late Mildred Thornton Lindley is honoring and remembering Mildred through the creation of a memorial garden at Mon Health Preston Memorial Hospital in Kingwood. Her memorial garden will be dedicated at 10 a.m. July 6.
The idea for the memorial garden began when Mildred’s family stayed with her as a patient at PMH during her battle with cancer. The family was touched by the compassionate care she received and wanted to do something special for the staff and other patients receiving care.
Instead of a gravel lot and brick wall, the family wanted more patients to have access to better nature views. The family then decided to create a garden to make a patient’s stay less stressful and enjoy a speedier recovery.
“As someone with a deep appreciation for nature and a love of gardening, this garden serves as a lasting reminder of Mom’s life-long passion for gardening,” Mildred’s son, Garth Lindley said. “I work for the University of California, Davis’ Arboretum and Public Garden because of my mother’s influence. In everything we do at the arboretum, we try to find as many ‘wins’ as possible, and so my vision is that this garden is just the beginning.”
The garden was the joint effort of several people, businesses and organizations, including PMH and its Chief Administrative Officer Melissa Lockwood, who provided financial and administrative support for the project. Sara Saurino of Studio on Stony Run designed the garden, and Modern Homestead provided the plantings. Mildred was a Master Gardener and Cranberry Garden Club member, which planted a tree in her memory.
Garth hopes this garden will inspire other families and community members to surround the PMH facility with gardens so patients and family members can enjoy a beautiful landscape while facing some of the most stressful times of their lives.
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