A memorial gift is a special way to honor a lost loved one. And it is an honor for North County Land Trust to be the recipient of a beautiful memorial bench in memory of Sean Magane of Fitchburg at our Crocker Conservation Area. The following is a piece from Sean’s sister, Melissa Magane.
My brother Sean Magane was a peaceful soul who felt a deep connection to the Earth beneath his feet. Growing up in Fitchburg, he jogged on North County Land Trust’s Crocker Conservation Area trails often with our parents and as a teen and young adult, he ran the trails as part of his off-season training for the World Cup as a member of the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team. He traveled around the World and each time he would return home his appreciation for New England’s natural landscape and the trails grew deeper.
Then as an adult, Sean found walking the trails with his mother, daughter and son to be grounding, peaceful and a wonderful opportunity to connect with his family. His daughter distinctly remembers him ALWAYS picking up bits of trash that were left behind unintentionally by other hikers. There was no way he could just walk past it. He loved the natural, pristine state of nature within the trails.
In 2015, Sean took over the family business, Dan’s Paving and Excavating, Inc. as our father prepared to retire. Sean was 7 years old when the business opened in 1979 and had been learning from and working with his father for a major portion of his life. Sean’s expertise was excavation, and he was quite skilled. One of the areas of excavation he found most satisfying was the removal and/or placement of giant slabs of granite. Some customers wanted the granite removed from their property and Sean happily transported it to his own home. After years of collecting granite, he built a sprawling stairway leading from his driveway to his backyard. He loved granite.
On April 16, 2020, a ruptured aortic aneurysm suddenly and without warning, took Sean’s life from the Earth that he loved so much. He was/is so deeply loved and missed by our family and we wanted to honor him and the beautiful life he had lived. We all agreed, without hesitation, that the Crocker Conservation Trails would somehow be included. Our father had the idea of using a few stray pieces of Sean’s granite collection to build a bench to honor his son. NCLT agreed to home the bench on Overlook Trail, to which our family is eternally grateful.
The crew from Dan’s Paving and Excavating, Inc. hauled the granite to the site, excavated the area, built the bench on site, and secured it. They did an amazing job on the structure and took great care in retaining the natural beauty of the area immediately surrounding the bench, just as Sean would have done. The bench looks like it has been there for 100 years!
In addition to the granite bench, our family and NCLT created The Sean Magane Legacy Project which will focus on keeping the trails trash-free by engaging the community in an annual event each October to recognize Sean’s birthday, October 24th. Eco-friendly give-a-ways, games, contests, and prizes will draw many to the trails and/or donations to NCLT.
Written by Melissa Magane 5/11/21
Logo Artwork-Tree of Life by Liam Magane (Sean’s Son)
Logo Design by Melissa Magane
If you would like more information on memorial gifts to North County Land Trust please reach out to us at info@northcountylandtrust.org.