pecan is a great wood for projects. It is ~30-50% harder than oak/hard maple, has great character, and is a relatively economical wood.
This is a table from one of those pecan slabs in my previous post:
This desk is all pecan (I milled the top slab, but the base was purchased wood from a lumber yard)
pecan gaming/dining table:
plus, that tree has sentimental value as the OP mentioned. Any time you can do a project from a tree with special meaning, its an awesome project.
Squirrellyy,
Even if you mill it in place, be prepared to need a tractor or machine to remove the slabs. You won't carry those out by hand.