88-year-old ‘overwhelmed with emotion’ as town decorates his 40-foot tree, officials say

For four decades, a tree grew in an Ohio man’s front yard, emerging from a sapling to be 40 feet tall.

And for the first time, it has received a holiday makeover.

The 88-year-old man, who officials referred to only as Gene, planted the tree when his son brought it home 40 years ago on Arbor Day and dreamed for decades of having it decorated.

The Mentor-on-the-Lake community stepped up to fulfill the man’s wish.

“Finally his dream was made a reality from the help of others,” the Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Department said in a Nov. 28 post on Facebook. “Donations were made for lighting and for the first time ever, the tree was decorated and lit.”

Pictures shared by the police department show colorful lights draped across the massive tree.

“Gene was overwhelmed with emotion seeing the tree strung with lights for the first time,” police said.

Mentor-on-the-Lake is about 25 miles northeast of Cleveland.