The widow who donated this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree hosted a “little watch party” for Wednesday night's lighting ceremony in her room at a rehabilitation facility after a recent stroke prevented her from attending in person, her family said. Ta.
Earl Albert donated a 74-foot-tall, 11-tonne Norwegian spruce in honor of his late wife Leslie, who passed away in 2020. The couple planted the much smaller tree in their West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, garden when they were newlyweds. 1967.
Albert had wanted to see 50,000 multicolored light bulbs illuminate the tree at his Manhattan home, but tragically suffered a stroke last month and is still recovering, relatives said. I spoke today.
“He's doing well,” Albert's daughter-in-law Sean told the publication. “He attends Sunnyview Rehabilitation and is working towards strength and health. [He still has some] Medical hurdles to overcome. ”
Nevertheless, he watched himself and his wife Tree dazzle thousands of drunkards (including his own family) on TV Wednesday night.
His daughter-in-law said he hosted a “little watch party” in his room at the facility, decorated for the holidays and FaceTimed his grandchildren, who attended the tree lighting ceremony in person.
“He was decorating his room. He was wearing a Santa hat and my son was on FaceTime, so he managed to be here,” Sean said.
The grandfather also said he received “thousands” of holiday cards and letters from strangers wishing him a full recovery.
Albert's special tree was first discovered in 2020 by Eric Pause, Rock Center's head gardener and longtime tree picker. This happened just days after his wife Leslie, a part-time school nurse, passed away.
AP
For this grieving new widow, it was a sign that he and his wife had enjoyed decorating their backyard tree every Christmas, but it was no longer possible due to its size.
“I used to decorate it a lot when I was little, but then it got too big and I couldn't display it anymore,” Albert said of the now towering tree.
Sean's husband and the couple's son, Michael, said he felt like the tree and its magical lights were a way to share his mother's memory with the world.
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“It was an overwhelming feeling of joy,” he told Today about the moment he saw the lights come on at Rock Center. “It was a tribute to my mother's life. Just her giving back and loving nature. It was like a way for us to give something to the world. It's amazing.”
Even if he couldn't be there in person, Albert cherished this city and the gift it gave to people from all over the world who came to see the beautiful branches above the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink. Ta.
He called donating the Christmas tree “probably one of the greatest honors” of his life.
