GREENVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- Names, dates and photos are found on Christmas trees around the globe, and the tree in the front yard at Missi Moore's Greenville home is no different.
The meaning behind each ornament, though, is.
"There's a lot of love on this tree," June Hurst said.
The names and faces are of family members and friends no longer with us. The dates mark the day they were lost.
"My husband always wanted to see this tree decorated for Christmas, and every year he would ask me," Missi Moore said. "Of course, being a mail carrier, this is the busiest time of the year, and it's such a huge tree. I just didn't have time."
Moore's life would soon come to a standstill. Her husband, Eddie, and son, Josh, died just months apart in 2013. Eddie died just five days before Christmas.
"Yeah, it was a rough year," Moore said with tears in her eyes.
Celebrating anything in the years to come, let alone the holidays, didn't seem right.
"Every year after he passed away, I would look at that tree, (and think), 'What can I do?'" Moore said.
After some time passed, she found a way to make Eddie and Josh part of her holiday season once again. With the help of an electrician and the fire department, she decorated that tree just like her husband always wanted.
She said the "Remembrance Tree," as it's now known, has become the perfect way to honor her family and what's quickly becoming her extended family.
"I started thinking about all the others out there that have lost loved ones, and I thought, 'I want to share it,'" Moore said.
A post went up on Facebook, and the comments, likes and shares started rolling in.
Now, in the days leading up to Christmas, strangers and friends show up regularly in Moore's front yard with ornaments of their own "just to show tribute and respect for those that can't physically be here," Hurst said.
Ornaments are also coming in the mail from people who don't even live in this country.
"A lot of times, when you lose a loved one in grief and all that, you feel alone," Moore said. "This has helped me. I'm not alone. There's so many people out there with me."
Moore said she knows Eddie and Josh are watching it all with those same smiles that lit up so many Christmas mornings she'll cherish forever.
"They're not forgotten," Moore said. "They'll never be forgotten."
If you would like to add an ornament to the remembrance tree, you can mail yours to 9751 Clark Street Greenville, IN 47124.
And Moore always welcomes drop-bys.
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