Man creates Christmas wonderland for wife with dementia – San Diego Union-Tribune

By Cathy Free

For the Washington Post

About three months ago, John Reichart was relaxing in the living room when his wife Joan suddenly asked him, “Where are all the Christmas decorations?”

Joan Reichart, 72, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease four years ago. In 2022, the couple moved back to their hometown of Indianola, Iowa so that some of their relatives could help care for her.

“We got engaged on Christmas Eve in 1970, and she always loved Christmas,” said John Reichart, 74, noting that he and his wife have been married nearly 54 years.

“I hadn’t done much decorating for the holidays since we got back because I had worked so hard to take care of her and keep her happy,” he said. “But when she asked about the decorations, I thought she deserved to see Christmas lights this year.”

Reichart thought about it for a few days, then came up with a plan: he would try to create a winter wonderland for his wife.

He had known for years that most people on his street didn’t decorate their homes. So he decided to ask the neighbors of the 18 houses in his neighborhood if he could install lighted trees in their front yards.

“When I got permission, I also decided to apply for permission to install LED lighting on the soffits of their houses,” he said. “Then I decided to buy large lawn decorations, like snowmen and toy soldiers, for each house. I got a little carried away. »

Only a few neighbors have put up decorations in recent years because the subdivision is new and many residents don’t have children, which often prompts them to hang lights and other fun decorations, said Frank Ewurs, who lives at the end of rue Reichart. .

“I have two kids and I like to put inflatables in the yard, but for the most part there aren’t a lot of Christmas decorations,” Ewurs said. “A lot of the neighbors don’t know each other very well, so everyone was really surprised by John’s offer.”

Ewurs said he became emotional after going down to Reichart’s house and hearing his story.

Reichart, a Marine who served in the Vietnam War and is now disabled, told her how he met Joan on a blind date in 1970 after his service overseas. Married in 1971, the couple raised a daughter and lived for about four decades in Missouri, where John Reichart ran a fire protection sprinkler business until his retirement.

Now that they were back in Indianola, Reichart was having a little trouble getting around due to a foot injury, Ewurs said. But he was determined to take care of his wife at home for as long as possible.

“I sat there with him and he told me all this, and I could sense that he felt a little alone sometimes,” Ewurs said. “He was there, putting all these decorations together and putting them up. I felt like he shouldn’t have to take on everything alone, so I offered to help.

Reichart’s neighbor Donna Bahun said she also wanted to help out.

“I started seeing John in his garage a lot, so I went to see what he was doing, and he told me he was putting together 9-foot lighted trees for everyone in the neighborhood,” said said Bahun, 70 years old.

The artificial trees, made of strands of light, are fixed into the ground to form a conical shape.

“One of his nieces came to help him put them together,” she added. “I was stunned by the effort he was going to make.”

Bahun said she feared Reichart would hurt himself, so she carried the finished trees to neighboring homes, including her own, and Reichart secured them to the ground.

For homes further away, Reichart hooked a small trailer to his mobility scooter to easily transport trees and lawn decorations. He then hired a lighting company to install the lights he had purchased for everyone, Bahun said.

“It probably took a month to put everything together,” she said, noting that each house was fully decorated by mid-November. “It was lovely to get to know John and I was touched to see him caring for Joan. He’s just a wonderful man.

Reichart said he spent thousands of dollars of his savings on the decorations, but he declined to give an exact amount. He said it was worth it to see his wife’s face light up.

“Every penny was well spent,” he said. “I will do anything to make her happy. It breaks my heart to see the change in her, so it’s nice to do something uplifting.

“Joan doesn’t talk much now, but she tells me the lights are pretty,” Reichart added. “Now that they’re on, I turn up the heat in the garage and we sit there most nights, waving to all the cars that pass by to see the decorations.”

Reichart also hands out cups of hot chocolate to anyone who visits the street, which neighbors have dubbed Christmas Wish Lane. KCCI News in Des Moines was among the local media outlets that covered her holiday decorating spree.

Reichart’s spirit of generosity is contagious, Ewurs said.

“I went out and bought a Santa suit, and now I hand out candy canes when people come to my house,” he said.

Reichart decided to have some fun with it, Ewurs said.

“I was in the Air Force, and when I told John what I was doing, he said, ‘Now I’m going to have to get a Santa suit and pass out candy bars with my chocolate hot because I can’t.” that the Air Force outranks me,” he said.

Ewurs started a card campaign after Reichart told him the only thing he wanted in return for his efforts was a Christmas card. He asks people to send cards to John Reichart, care of Frank Ewurs, at PO Box 133, Indianola, Iowa, 50125.

Ewurs and his wife, Mandy Ewurs, also started a GoFundMe page, hoping to raise enough money for Reichart to purchase a shed to store the neighborhood’s new decorations.

“It’s a labor of love for him, but we don’t want him to keep spending his money,” Mandy Ewurs said. “He’s already been quite generous and he’s brought a lot of our neighbors together.”

“I’m so touched – it’s like a movie you would see on the Hallmark Channel,” she added.

For Frank Ewurs, something else comes to mind.

“It’s like Clark Griswold came to our neighborhood,” he said, referencing the classic holiday movie “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”

“We now have a bright street,” he added. “John even put glowing dogs in the yard of everyone who had a dog on the street.”

Reichart said he plans to continue his new tradition for as long as he can.

“Seeing my wife’s reaction to all this warms me,” he said. “Even after he’s gone, I’d like to continue doing this in his memory.” Every Christmas I want to see the whole neighborhood light up.