The widower who donated this yr’s Rockefeller Middle Christmas tree hosted a “little watch party” of Wednesday night time’s lighting ceremony in his room at a rehab facility after a latest stroke stopped him from attending in individual, his household stated.
Earl Albert offered the 74-foot-tall, 11-ton Norway spruce in honor of his late spouse Leslie, who died in 2020. The couple had planted the tree — then a lot smaller — of their West Stockbridge, Mass. yard as newlyweds in 1967.
Albert had been keen to look at the 50,000 multi-colored bulbs illuminate his tree in Manhattan, however he tragically suffered a stroke final month and continues to be recovering, his kinfolk informed As we speak.
“He’s doing OK,” Albert’s daughter-in-law, Shawn, informed the outlet. “He’s at Sunnyview Rehab so he’s working towards strength and wellness. [He still has some] medical hurdles to get over.”
Nonetheless, he watched his and his spouse’s tree dazzle hundreds of revelers — together with a number of of his family members — on TV Wednesday night time.
His daughter-in-law stated he hosted a “little watch party” in his room on the facility, which he embellished for the vacations, and FaceTimed his grandson who attended the tree lighting in individual.
“He had his room decked out. He had his Santa hat on and my son FaceTimed with him, so he was able to sort of be here,” Shawn stated.
The grandfather has additionally gotten “thousands” of vacation playing cards and letters from strangers who wished him a full restoration, she added.
Albert’s particular tree was first scouted by Rock Middle’s head gardener and long-time tree picker Erik Pauze in 2020 — simply days after his spouse Leslie, a part-time college nurse, had died.
To the grieving new widower, that was an indication as he and his spouse loved adorning their yard tree for Christmas yearly till they couldn’t anymore as a result of its sheer dimension.
“We first used to decorate it when it was small, and then it got so big that I couldn’t decorate it,” Albert stated of the now-towering tree.
The couple’s son Michael, Shawn’s husband, stated he felt just like the tree — and its magical lighting — was a means of sharing his mom’s reminiscence with the world.
“It was an overwhelming emotion of joy,” he informed As we speak of the second he watched the lights come on from Rock Middle. “It was a tribute to my mother’s life. Just the giving back and the loving nature of her. It was like our way to kind of give to the world. It’s awesome.”
Even when he couldn’t be there in individual, Albert cherished the reward he gave to town and people all over the world who come to see its beautiful branches above the Rockefeller Middle ice skating rink.
He described donating the Christmas tree as “probably one of the greatest honors” of his life.