Grieving Husband Plants 4-Mile Strip of Sunflowers Along State Road for Late Wife
Along Wisconsin State Road 85, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, a ribbon of sunflowers stretching several miles stands as a tribute to love and loss.
Don Jaquish lost his wife, Babbette, to cancer last November, KARE 11 News reported. Babbette loved sunflowers, and as a memorial to her after she passed, Jaquish began planting them along the road in a 60-foot-wide strip. Now, that strip stretches four-and-a-half miles long and crosses five farms.
He began the project a month after her funeral and neighbors allowed him to plant on their land, telling him to pay whatever rent seemed fair.
Jaquish’s tribute to his late wife is beautiful, but it also has a purpose — the sunflower seeds will be harvested and sold as birdseed with a potion of the money raised going towards hospitals, research and patient advocacy, according to the Babbette’s Seeds of Hope Website. The idea to sell sunflower seeds to benefit cancer patients was Babbette’s, and she convinced Jaquish to plant a whole field of them for this purpose a year ago.
“She’s always loved flowers, but sunflowers were her favorite,” Jaquish told Kare 11 News. “They fit her personality. She’d walk into a room and her smile would light up a whole room.”
Watch the video below for more on the story:
Visit the Babbette’s Seeds of Hope Facebook page for more information.
Melissa McGlensey is the former News Editor at The Mighty. Her writing can also be seen in Ms. Magazine, on the Ms.Magazine blog and in The Huffington Post’s Good News, Comedy and Impact sections. Melissa is also a New York City comedian who does sketch, improv and stand up. She is passionate about social justice, politics, Thai food, literature, disability rights and more. She is currently in a long-distance relationship with her cat, Sneakers, who lives in California. You can follow her on twitter at @OhHeyMeliss.
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