The classy way of handling puns is to avoid them if they're not intended and leave them unstated if they are. It's funnier to everyone who notices that way, and less distracting to people that are just there for the content.
Instead of puns, you can substitute the synonym for the word you're punning. So instead of "I never forgot my roots" you can say, "I never forgot my tree butts" or whatever word silly rephrasing you can imagine.