Frank Knight had an affinity for wood that some wood flooring installers can probably relate to. Knight, who gained international fame in 2009 for his ongoing battle to save the life of a 217-year-old elm in Maine, died on Monday at 103, and he is to be buried in a casket made from the very elm he fought to save, according to the Boston Herald.
The tree's nickname was Herbie, and Knight looked after it for more than 50 years while serving as the tree warden in Yarmouth, Maine. In January 2010, Herbie finally succumbed to Dutch elm disease and had to be cut down. Afterward, wood from Herbie was made into a casket, a secret that was kept from Knight, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
"Herbie was the apple of his eye," Deb Hopkins, Knight's friend, told the Boston Herald. "He was passionate about that one tree because it was so beautiful."
