Christmas Tree On Long Island Lit In Memory Of Husband Touches Hearts

CENTER MORICHES, NY — A Center Moriches woman's mission to honor her late husband's wish turned into an act of caring embraced by the community.

After Michelle Langdon's husband died five years ago, she strung lights on a huge tree outside her home on Wading River Road, just as he had long dreamt of doing.

This year, someone in the community went out of their way to thank her for the yearly ritual that has touched hearts.

"A few nights ago, I went out to straighten out my Valentine inflatable and noticed that there was a truck parked in front of my driveway," Langdon wrote on social media this week. "I noticed that the truck had moved over to my mailbox. After the truck left, I went to my mailbox and opened it to find this sweet letter and gift certificate."

The writer told Langdon how "nice it was, that you light up that beautiful tree every Christmas. The neighborhood appreciates it — and you." Along with the note was a gift certificate to a local restaurant to thank Langdon "for making my road beautiful."

Langdon thanked the person who left the gift for their kindness. She and Ed had long wanted to illuminate the tree.

"I wish we had done it while he was alive," she said. "He would have loved all the kind words everyone has said about the tree."

Her husband loved holidays, Langdon told Patch. They also decorated outside their home for Halloween, Valentine's Day, Easter, St. Patrick's Day, and more, something she still does. On Halloween, he'd come from work, put on his costume, and wave to those driving by.

"He loved what I did out front for the holidays," she said.

The tree that he'd always longed to light is 80-feet tall and stands outside their home.

"We specifically bought the house because of the tree," she said.

The couple trimmed the branches over the years so it looked just like a Christmas tree. Although they both wanted to light it, the cost was prohibitive, especially because doing so required an upgrade of their electrical box, she said.

Still, even before the tree was lit, Langdon worked hard to decorate, dotting the yard with about 20 inflatables, including a Peanuts display; she also lined the house and her fence with brightly colored lights.

"I go to town!" she said. "Over the years, the display has gotten bigger. I always tell my son every year, 'I've got room for more.'"

The year her husband passed away, Langdon turned to her mother and said, "I'm lighting that tree," she remembered. She found a company, Puccio Electric, and worked with the owner, Mark, to see her husband's dream realized. "He knew exactly what I needed," she said.

And the tree is clearly what the community needed, too. "Since I've done that tree, I've had so many comments, thanking me." The tree can be seen for some distance, she said.

Even when a windstorm the day before Christmas Eve caused lights on the trees to break and made it impossible to inflate any of the decorations, there was a moment of beauty.

"My bedroom faces the tree and I saw a truck pull up then, too, in front of my driveway. He went over to my mailbox and it was a drawing by little kids that said 'Best Lights Award.' So even though I was upset about what had happened, that made me feel better."

Others have expressed their gratitude. A paramedic told Langdon every time she comes home from work, even if she's had a bad day, the decorations and the tree make her smile. "It makes her day better," she said.

The tree remains aglow from Dec. 1 to Jan. 6 every year, she said.

The year her husband died, and the pain was palpable, Langdon still decorated, because her sons told her she had to carry on the timeless tradition.

Langdon said her husband used to tease her, laughing because she took her decorating so seriously that she creates a blueprint to guide placement for the inflatables and decorations. "I told my son, 'When I'm gone, you have all the blueprints,'" she said. "And I told him, 'Even if you don't put up all my decorations — light the tree.'"

Langdon said she's felt signs from her beloved — a squirrel who kept returning, butterflies, cardinals, and woodpeckers — his parents called her husband "Woody, the boy with the wooden nose," she said. "Whenever I see a woodpecker now, I say, 'Hi, Ed.'"

If her were still alive, the couple would be celebrating 31 years of marriage on August 10.

The vows they made, the promises they pledged, are forever, Langdon said.

Of her tree, now lit for her husband each year, Langdon said: "After I did this, I actually looked up to the sky and said, 'Ed, I did it! I did what we wanted to do. And I hope you have the best view ever.'"