John Reichart’s holiday decorations light up the night in Indianola, Iowa. To make his wife Joan, who has Alzheimer’s disease, happy, he not only decorated their own yard but also got permission to decorate their neighbors’ as well. (Mandy Ewurs)
About three months ago, John Reichart was relaxing in the living room when his wife Joan suddenly asked, “Where are all of 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 some of their relatives could help with her care.
“We got engaged on Christmas Eve in 1970, and she’s always loved Christmas,” said John Reichart, 74, noting that he and his wife have been married for almost 54 years.
“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 said. “But when she wondered about the decorations, I thought she deserved to see some Christmas lights this year.”
Neighbors like Donna Bahun lent John Reichart a hand in decorating the neighborhood. “It probably took a month to get everything up,” she said, noting that each house was fully decorated by mid-November. (Mandy Ewurs)
Reichart thought about it for a few days, then came up with a plan: He would try to make a winter wonderland for his wife.
He knew from prior years that most people on his street didn’t decorate their homes, so he decided to ask the neighbors in all 18 homes on his block if he could put lighted trees in their front yards.
“When I got permission for that, I also decided to ask for permission to put up LED lighting on the soffits of their houses,” he said. “Then after that, I decided I’d buy large lawn ornaments like snowmen and tin soldiers for every house. I got a little carried away.”
Only a few of the neighbors had put up decorations in recent years because the subdivision is new and many residents don’t have children, often a motivator to hang lights and other fun decorations, said Frank Ewurs, who lives at the end of Reichart’s street.
“I have two kids, and I like to put up inflatables in the yard, but for the most part, there aren’t many Christmas decorations,” Ewurs said. “A lot of the neighbors don’t know each other very well, so everyone was really taken aback by John’s offer.”
Ewurs said he became emotional after he walked down to Reichart’s house and heard his story.
Reichart, a Marine who served during the Vietnam War and is now disabled, told him how he’d met Joan on a blind date in 1970 after his service overseas. Married in 1971, the couple raised one daughter and lived for about four decades in Missouri, where John Reichart ran a fire protection sprinkler business until his retirement.
John Reichart heats up he and his wife’s garage every night so they can wave at people who drive down their street to look at the neighborhood’s Christmas lights. He also serves hot chocolate to everyone who visits the street, which neighbors have nicknamed Christmas Wish Lane. (Mandy Ewurs )
Joan and John Reichart, shown here from the period when they started dating in the early 1970s. (John Reichart)
Now that they were back in Indianola, Reichart had 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 of this, and I could sense that he got a little lonely at times,” Ewurs said. “Here he was, putting together all of these decorations and setting them up. I felt he shouldn’t have to take on everything on his own, so I offered to help.”
Reichart’s neighbor across the street, Donna Bahun, said she also wanted to lend a hand.
“I started seeing John in his garage a lot, so I went over to see what he was doing, and he said he was putting together 9-foot, lighted trees for everyone in the neighborhood,” said Bahun, 70.
The artificial trees, made of strands of light, secure into the ground to form a cone shape.
“One of his nieces would come over and help him assemble them,” she added. “I was stunned at the effort he was going to.”
Bahun said she worried about Reichart injuring himself, so she carried the finished trees to nearby homes, including her own, and Reichart secured them to the ground.
For houses that were further away, Reichart hooked up a small trailer to his mobility scooter to easily haul the trees and lawn ornaments. He then hired a lighting company to install the house lights he’d purchased for everyone, Bahun said.
“It probably took a month to get everything up,” she said, noting that each house was fully decorated by mid-November. “It was nice to get to know John, and I was touched to watch him care for Joan. He’s just a wonderful man.”
Reichart said he spent thousands of dollars from 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 dime was well spent,” he said. “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,” Reicharthe added. “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.”
Reichart also hands out cups of hot chocolate to everyone who visits the street, which neighbors have nicknamed Christmas Wish Lane. KCCI News of Des Moines was among the local media outlets that covered his holiday decorating spree.
Reichart’s spirit of giving has been contagious, Ewurs said.
“I went out and bought a Santa suit, and I’m now passing out candy canes when people come by my house,” he said.
Reichart decided to have some fun with that, Ewurs said.
“I was in the Air Force, and when I told John what I was doing, he told me, ‘Now, I’m going to have to get a Santa suit and hand out candy bars with my hot chocolate because I can’t have the Air Force outdoing 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 is asking people to mail cards to John Reichart, care of Frank Ewurs, at P.O. Box 133, Indianola, Iowa, 50125.
Ewurs and his wife, Mandy Ewurs, also started a GoFundMe page, hoping to raise enough funds for Reichart to buy 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,” said Mandy Ewurs. “He’s been generous enough already, and he’s brought a lot of our neighbors together.”
“I’m so touched by it — it’s like a movie you’d 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, referring to the holiday classic movie “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”
“We now have one bright street,” he added. “John even put light-up dogs in the yards of everyone on the street who has a dog.”
Reichart said he plans to continue his new tradition for as long as he’s able.
“Seeing my wife’s reaction to all of this warms me up,” he said. “Even when she’s gone, I’d like to continue doing this in her memory. Every Christmas, I want to see the whole block light up.”
