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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. –  People come from all over the world to visit Maple Hill Cemetery, and now they have a new reason to stop by.

A tree was given a second life after it was turned into a unique piece of art.

Joy McKee is the director at Maple Hill Cemetery, and the masterpiece was her idea.

“I think this is probably the only carving of a tree you know, it was a wonderful tree,” McKee said. “I hated to see it go down.”

The almost centuries-old tree had been damaged by storms, and the staff could tell it was time to take it down.

“Anytime a tree goes down it just pains us in landscape management and the cemeteries,” McKee said.

Fayetteville artist Roark Phillips made her vision come to life.

“As a result, this is what he did for us, and it just makes the tree last a little bit longer, and it’s an art piece,” McKee said.

Ivy traces up to the top of the tree in honor of what was popular at cemeteries in the 1800s.

The piece is something special but if you look around, art can be found anywhere.

“When you look at Maple Hill Cemetery and all our other cemeteries, all of the different monuments, they are actually a form of art,” McKee said.

And in a place that for some marks the end, a new chapter has begun.

If you would like to leave your mark at Maple Hill Cemetery you can. With any donation to the Green Team, you can have a tree planted in your honor. Click here to learn more.