This year, the city of Haverhill’s Christmas tree will honor the life of Alexander McNulty. The young child suddenly passed away before his seventh birthday back in March of 2007.
The tree was originally gifted to the McNulty family by their daughter’s dance studio back in June of 2007.
“Alex isn’t forgotten,” said Janice McNulty, Alexander’s mother. “He was never sick, he just passed away.”
“He loved Christmas, he loved to run around and play and have a good time all the time. I think he would be very happy,” said Matthew McNulty, Alexander’s father.
The tree quickly became an annual Christmas photo tradition for Alexander’s sister, Catherine and his identical twin brother, Christopher. What was once a small tree, they say grew into a large gesture of love.
Janice says they tried to donate the tree to the city years ago, but it wasn’t big enough. Now, the tree will be the city’s holiday centerpiece and Alexander’s memory will be the center.
“Every parent’s worst nightmare is what we’ve lived and as bad as it is, we’ve found there’s been so much good that’s been shown to us and we’re so grateful for it,” said Janice McNulty.
The family will attend the tree lighting scheduled for Friday at Washington Square.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
