Iowa Veteran Spends 2 Months Turning Entire Neighborhood Into a Christmas Wonderland as Gift to Wife With Alzheimer’s

A bighearted Iowa husband has come up with an emotional way to ensure his wife of 53 years can continue to find joy in the Christmas season even as she battles Alzheimer’s disease.

John Reichart, a 72-year-old U.S. Marine veteran from Indianola, spent two months turning his neighborhood into a festive wonderland, adorning every home on his street with hundreds of lights to celebrate wife Joan‘s love of the holiday season.

Reichart revealed to The Washington Post that the idea first arose three months ago, when Joan, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s four years ago, suddenly turned to him and asked where the Christmas decorations were.

“I hadn’t done much holiday decorating since we moved back because I’d been working so hard to look after her and keep her happy,” he told the Post. “But when she wondered about the decorations, I thought she deserved to see some Christmas lights this year.”

So he came up with a plan to turn their neighborhood into the perfect festive escape, noting that his wife has always loved the festive holiday, so much so that they even got engaged on Christmas Eve 1970.

Reichart turned to his neighbors for support, explaining that the 18 homes on his street rarely decorated their yards for Christmas. He was given the go-ahead to put tree-shaped light structures on all of their lawns. But he took things a step further, adding LED lights to their actual homes—and other lawn ornaments to the mix, from snowmen to tiny dogs.

Days after his wife asked about the Christmas decorations in September, Reichart began pulling together the lights and ornaments in his garage. He ultimately completed his festive neighborhood takeover in November—having worked tirelessly to ensure everything was installed.

Using his electric wheelchair, Reichart towed a wagon of supplies from home to home. He did much of the installation himself in the initial phases; however, more and more helping hands joined in along the way.

He hired professionals to put up the more intricate light installations and even consulted with his neighbors about incorporating their personal style.

The result is a street straight out of a Hallmark Channel movie.

Christmas trees line both sides of the street, glowing with thousands of lights and ornaments.

The street has been attracting sightseers, with rows of cars driving through every night to see the festive homes display. Many want to meet Reichart, who sits in his garage with a heater and hot chocolate to greet them.

In the end, the devoted husband spent thousands of dollars on decorations, but “every dime was well spent,” he told the Post. “I’ll 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 speak much now, but she tells me the lights are pretty. Now that they’re up, I turn up the heat in the garage and we sit out there most nights, waving at all the cars that drive by to see the decorations.”

As for Joan, she couldn’t be happier with the results, telling CBS News: “I didn’t know what to think. But I’m glad he did it. I love him.”

Keeping in the holiday tradition of giving back, one neighbor even launched a fundraiser to help Reichart with the holiday display. A P.O. Box was also set up so well-wishers from around the world could send notes and cards of support to the Reicharts.

They can be mailed to:

John Reichart
C/O Frank Ewurs
P.O. Box 133
Indianola, IA
50125