NEW HARTFORD - At the governor's gentle coaxing, a grieving mother stepped forward.

Mary Jane Spriggs grasped a shovel and carefully spread a bit of dirt around the base of a red oak planted Monday in honor of her late son. Norman Beuthien's family, along with Gov. Chet Culver, helped as well.

Another family had already filled in around a freshly planted bur oak. That tree will grow in honor of Leasa Bleeker.

The oaks at Packwaukee Park - chosen for characteristics of stability and resilience - will serve as living memorials to the two New Hartford residents who died when an F5 tornado hit the community on May 25, 2008. The twister also killed six people in Parkersburg and cut a path east through Black Hawk and Buchanan counties.

Tomi Fuchs of Cedar Rapids, one of Beuthien's daughters, attended the ceremony and appreciated the tribute.

"Well, it's nice they'd honor him like that," she said. "It's good to see a piece of him will always be here."

Bleeker's oldest granddaughter, Sheila Callan, lives across the street from Packwaukee Park. The location will allow her children to play in the presence of the oak dedicated to a beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

"I think the thing I remembered about her the most, she was a homemaker and lived to take care of my grandpa," Callan said.

In several Northeast Iowa communities, Memorial Day celebrations coincided with events acknowledging the one-year anniversary of the deadly and devastating storm. Culver spoke Monday at the annual Memorial Day service in Parkersburg. In New Hartford, he reflected on the past year's losses. He also praised Iowans for their response to the many hardships.

"We saw a spirit of helping neighbors in need, and this spirit was alive and well in New Hartford," he said.

Culver promised support for ongoing recovery efforts and additional financial assistance. Officials have allocated $6,300 to New Hartford through I-JOBS and $200,000 from other sources, said Pete McRoberts, Culver's deputy press secretary.

Culver said the state is making progress in its recovery and predicted brighter times ahead.

"Although our collective work is far from over, today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today," he said.

Rebuild Iowa helped coordinate Monday's tree planting with help from the forestry program at Iowa State University. Wright Outdoor Solutions of Des Moines donated the oaks, the state tree of Iowa.