Memorial Bench

Our father always loved the beauty of nature. He enjoyed going on hikes in the woods and taking walks on the beach and in the park, and truly had a green thumb. The annual blooming of his prized lan hua was always cause for celebration in our house.

Considering Dad’s wish to eventually have his ashes scattered at sea, and in honor of his love for nature, on June 25, 2014, we installed a cedar bench in the Garden of Fragrance of the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Dad’s memory. This is a meaningful place for us to mourn his loss and celebrate his life, and so we are extremely grateful to all the family and friends who contributed to the donation for Dad’s bench.

Visiting Dad’s Bench

The San Francisco Botanical Garden (also called the Arboretum), located in the middle of Golden Gate Park, is open every day, including holidays, 7:30am – 4pm (Nov. – Jan.) or 5pm (Feb. – Oct.). Admission is free for San Francisco residents and $5/$7 for non-residents. Jennifer can arrange for free guest admission, so please contact her (jennifer.teu@gmail.com, mobile/text 650.722.2539) if you are planning to visit.

In the map below, the gold stars mark the two entrances to the garden and the green star marks Dad’s bench. Street parking along all the drives in the park is free. We often park at Stow Lake in the areas marked with the blue P symbols, then take one of the short walking paths (marked in bright blue), which lead to the Friend Gate/North Gate entrance to the garden. There is also $5/hour parking in the garage marked with a gold P symbol.

The Garden of Fragrance is in the northeast section of the Arboretum, midway between the two entrance gates, just north of the Great Meadow. Dad’s bench is on a stone terrace overlooking a small grassy lawn. Click the map below for a larger view, or click this link to download a PDF: sfbotanicalgarden.org/graphics/pdf/04SFBGSA_BW_Map.pdf