One tree at Bonnaroo was planted to remember a sister's loss. It then turned into a love story.

Jessica Bliss | The Tennessean

Show Caption Hide Caption Roots for Roo allows couple to commemorate life of deceased sister Brooke Wilds and Sean Windberg dedicated a tree through Roots For Roo to Wilds' deceased sister Lauren Wilds.

Lauren Wilds was a free and beautiful soul.

A gymnast with golden hair and striking blue eyes, she loved family barbecues and electronic music.

She would have loved Bonnaroo.

But she never got a chance to come.

Wilds died of an overdose when she was 20.

Still, she is here in spirit.

Planted on the grounds of Great Stage Park is a tulip poplar in her memory. When it grows tall enough, it will bloom with yellow flowers — her favorite color.

The tree is a tribute from her older sister, Brooke, planted through Root for Roo.

The program provides an opportunity to create living and permanent memories through trees growing on the Bonnaroo grounds, where thousands of music and art fans were departing Monday after four days of celebration.

"Lauren embodied what Bonnaroo is," says Sean Windberg, Brooke's fiancé. "The freeness and the openness and just being happy and being there in the moment.

"That’s why we thought the tree was a good idea. Instead of embracing death, it is celebrating life and recreating life. And it’s something that can flourish for people here."

'Every tree has a story'

Lauren's tree is just one of dozens on the Bonnaroo grounds with special meaning.

Small oaks and poplars speckle Centeroo, young trees sourced from a local nursery just starting to give shade.

If you look closely enough, you can see photos affixed to some, lights or flowers wrapped around others. Each Root for Roo tree has a plaque near its roots to celebrate a loved one or an unforgettable moment with dear friends.

The tree adoption coming through a $650 donation which goes to support the Bonnaroo Works Fund, the nonprofit part of Bonnaroo that supports community arts, education, and environmental sustainability.

Along with the living memories, Root for Roo also has another unique purpose.

On the Bonnaroo grounds, there is not a lot of shade. Planting a tree helps protect those who will sit under it in the years to come.

It's full circle, part of the Bonnaroo DNA of radiating positivity.

"Every tree has a story," says Jeff Cuellar, AC Entertainment’s vice president for community relations and the Bonnaroo team member who started the Root for Roo program. "It's an honor to know we're impacting people's lives and contributing to a memory. There are moments both somber and celebratory. It's something beautiful."

From loss into a love story

Lauren's tree grows just beyond the Oasis, in view of The Other Tent. It's a perfect location, Brooke Wilds says, because that's where the electronic music plays.

"It's just such a cool tribute," she says, wiping tears from her eyes as she thinks of her sister. "When you pass away when you're 20, you don't make very many plans for your funeral. ... So I wanted to do something that was a celebration of life."

Brooke visits her sister's tree every year when she comes to Bonnaroo from her home in Orlando. She always leaves a bouquet of sunflowers at its base.

Yellow was Lauren's favorite color. Her family wore shades of it to her funeral.

This year, as Brooke made the annual journey to the spot, something special happened.

It was quiet in Centeroo. The festival gates had just opened. It had an air of intimacy.

As she and her boyfriend stood next to the tree together to take a photo, he dropped to one knee and proposed.

The ring he gave her was made of three circle-shaped diamonds connected in the center, just like the Bonnaroo symbol. It represents each stage of life — past, present and future.

It also represents the love that emanates from that spot.

There is a heart-shaped mark on Lauren's tree, left there by a sticker someone affixed to it during Bonnaroo in 2015, the year after Lauren died.

Even now, you can see its faint outline on the poplar's bark.

"It's the perfect place," Wilds says.

Reach Jessica Bliss at 615-259-8253 and jbliss@tennessean.com or on Twitter @jlbliss.