Father suffers loss and shows ‘Hope of the World’ with Christmas tree
Zachary Canaperi/Watertown Daily Times
Kevin R. Kitto next to “Hope of the World,” a Christmas tree that he decorated in memory of his son for the North Country Festival of Trees in Watertown, December 2023. Zachary Canaperi/Watertown Daily Times
WATERTOWN — Kevin R. Kitto was in his element as he carefully arranged the decorations on a tall evergreen for this year’s North Country Festival of Trees.
The Christmas tree would become a memorial and a shining symbol of hope — and raise $4,000 for the YMCA, a place admired by Kitto, 61.
The former business owner, who owned Sherwood Florist on Washington Street for 32 years, treats Christmas trees as he does floral arrangements.
“I always look at decorating trees how I would create a floral arrangement, how I would gather all the materials together and blend the colors and blend the style,” he said.
Kitto has decorated trees for the festival since its beginnings, gaining a reputation for his recognizable and enchanting arrangements.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell me that they can tell, without my name being on it: ‘Yeah, Kevin did that tree,’” he said.
This year was no exception. When people walked through the forest of colorful twinkling lights and dangling ornaments, there was something about his tree that made them stop and take a closer look.
Maybe it is the way that hundreds of delicate white, silver, gold, green and brown pieces don’t appear to be hanging from the tree, but rather, are inseparable from one large sculpture.
Or maybe, it is that the artist is a father who lost his son, and that every little piece was placed by that father to remember his son.
On Oct. 26, Kevin and Marietta Kitto’s son, Kevin R. Kitto Jr., known as “Rusty,” died in a car crash. He was 33.
Rusty Kitto was married to Jubilee A. Kitto only 19 days before the crash.
“We lost our son Oct. 26 and that was pretty devastating to us. He had just gotten married Oct. 7, so it’s been a rough fall for us. So that was the inspiration for the tree,” Kitto said.
A “Hope” ornament on a Christmas tree decorated by Kevin
R. Kitto in memory
of his son, Kevin R. “Rusty” Kitto Jr. Courtesy of Kevin R. Kitto
I feel it is very fitting to honor his life with this Christmas tree — a symbol of hope and triumph over death. Although we may be broken and weak, it is God who gives us strength through the gift of his Son Jesus and the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Whether your Christmas is merry this year or whether it is difficult, my hope is that this Christmas tree stands as a shining beacon, bringing peace, love, joy, and hope to a broken world.”
Kevin R. Kitto decorates the tree in memory of his son, Kevin R. “Rusty” Kitto Jr. Photos courtesy of Kevin R. Kitto
Kitto said that nobody had expected that he would participate in the Festival of Trees this year.
“I wanted to do a tree, because I wanted to do it in memory of my son,” he said.
Kitto also wanted to show the world the importance of hope. This year’s theme for the Festival of Trees was peace, love and joy. Kitto said that he had joked with some of the committee members that these were three of the four Sundays of Advent, and that they shouldn’t forget about the fourth one — hope.
“To me, the reason we celebrate Christmas is that Jesus Christ is the hope of the world. So that became also the theme of the tree — ‘Hope of the World.’ We can’t forget that, with all the other stuff that goes on all around us. We get all caught up in the activities of Christmas and all the other things. But what are we really celebrating? We are celebrating our hope,” he said.
Kitto, who was a lay minister for more than 15 years while he owned his flower shop, is now a full-time pastor and lives to write and communicate in ways that help others. His son Rusty shared this passion for communication.
Kitto said that his faith and his hope have helped him to begin moving forward after the tragedy. In a message placed near the tree that features a segment written by Rusty, Kitto wrote:
“For centuries Christmas trees have brightened the homes in the dark of winter as a reminder that death does not triumph. Evergreens do not lose their foliage in winter, instead they stand strong and green against the barren landscape, which tells us that there is hope. Spring does come and winter is not the final word. The ornaments on this tree are placed in memory of our son, Kevin ‘Rusty’ Kitto, Jr. This is something I could do to acknowledge the pain that I felt in the face of horrible tragedy.”
“Rusty was a very loving and outpouring young man,” the message continues. “In his own words he said this:
‘Consideration. What a word. Consideration. It’s one vocab word that I honestly feel I can say almost nobody knows or understands. Because if you lived your life truly considerate to others you’d get almost nothing done. It is on one hand a blessing. The other, a curse. At the end of the day though I realize, although I want my life to be known as a success, I’d much more rather my life be known as a considerate person. Never got in the way, yet always jumping in before being asked. Seeing what is to be before it happens. Standing up for the injustices that you can see happening or about to and not backing down from it when challenged. I always try to be good at anything I ever do. And when I’m great I call it mediocre. There is always room for improvement. Always space to learn. And always strength to carry on doing what is always right… that all being said, I know what I wanna be when I am old. (I don’t care) what profession I’m in, how much money I make, how easy it is to live or how hard I gotta struggle. At the end of the day when it’s all said and done and I’m dead and gone, I want people to know me as a True Drengr. That’s all I will ever ask for.’
(Drengr: a valiant, gallant, humble, gentle, chivalrous and compassionate man. A man who can always be trusted.)
Woodland themed decorations wrap around a Christmas tree decorated by Kevin
R. Kitto in memory
of his son, Kevin R. “Rusty” Kitto Jr. Courtesy of Kevin R. Kitto
Upon entering the new YMCA Community and Aquatics Center on Arsenal Street, visitors will be greeted at the entrance by the sparkling tree, along with this message. Kitto, a longtime member of the Y, is thankful for the donors, Fred and Judy Gentner, and Mary and Jim Corriveau, who purchased the tree.
Fred Gentner said that he and Judy had talked to the Corriveaus before the auction, and decided that they wanted to go in on it together, and donate it to the Y.
“Judy and I, we do this because we care about the community. Neither of us are from here originally, but we’ve been here now over 20 years and its grown on us. It is a good community and its been good to us. This is kind of our way of giving back to the community,” Gentner said.
“What a beautiful tree and what a beautiful, brand-new YMCA. It just fit perfectly. And everyone in the community can enjoy it,” Judy said.
Upon closer inspection to the tree, one begins to see all of its unique elements, and some striking similarities.
“Ironically, I had no idea when I was doing the tree — when I was picking out things that my son liked — that the colors were exactly the same colors as the new Y inside,” Kitto said.
Sure enough, Rusty’s favorite colors, greens and browns, are all over the walls and the furniture in the “Honoring our Donors” section of the Y — and all throughout his tree.
Kitto also included woodland features in the arrangement.
“He loved going on hikes in the woods,” Kitto said. “There were feathers because he loved birds. He loved deer, so there were deer all through the tree. He just really got into nature. He loved nature. He loved animals.”
With the ribbon cutting on the new YMCA on Monday, the new facility is now open to the public, and anyone can take a look at the tree.
Shawna Cutuli, deputy CEO of the Watertown Family YMCA who takes over as CEO Jan. 1, said the turnout for the festival was even greater than last year, with people coming from Canada and outside the region.
“The proceeds go towards children’s programming, so we were able to service kids in about 1,700 programs last year, due to the funds raised from that fundraiser. It’s a huge support for children’s scholarships, and also just a huge community event,” she said.
Cutuli said that lots of people were interested in “Hope of the World” during the festival.
“I was eyeing that tree when Kevin was building that. I was surprised that he was able to make the event,” she said.
Kitto not only crafted a winning tree, but he showed up to the gala on Dec. 1 and spoke proudly of his son in front of a large crowd of people, many of whom were strangers to him, because he had an important message that he wanted to share — a message of hope.
“Out of one of the most tragic things that’s ever happened in my life, there is still a lot of good and a lot of hope,” Kitto said. “Our faith is so much stronger, as a family we are so together.”