A kind teacher escorted two of his former students to a daddy-daughter dance after they experienced a heartbreaking loss.
Steve Culbert of Davidson, Michigan, took Alivia Reece, 7, and Avery Reece, 8, to the event on Oct. 13, along with his own daughters, Aliyah Culbert, 6, and Hailey Culbert, 8.
"I had gone up to the hospital to visit and even talking to mom -- I knew the outlook wasn't so good with dad," Culbert told "Good Morning America." "The dad-daughter dance was coming up. My wife and I talked and she said, 'You need to take them.'"
I wanted to make it as big of night as possible for these girls.
"My daughters were excited to take their friends with us," he added. "I wanted to make it as big of [a] night as possible for these girls."
Alivia and Avery's dad, Luke Reece, died Sept. 19 after a blood condition put him in cardiac arrest. He was 32 years old.
For the dance, Culbert, who taught both girls in second grade, surprised the sisters with a stretch limo and a day of beauty. Members of the community bought the dresses for Avery and Alivia and Culbert's daughters, so the four of them could match in their favorite colors.
Prior to the big night, the girls released balloons in honor of Avery and Alivia's dad. Each balloon had the hashtag #BeLikeLuke written on them to symbolize Luke Reece as an organ donor. The evening concluded with an ice cream treat, Culbert said.
Shelley Reece, the girls' mom, said she was thrilled that Culbert offered to bring her daughters to the dance -- a night that her husband always looked forward to having with his girls.
"I am forever grateful," she told "GMA." "Having Avery come home that evening and tell me Mr. Culbert brought her smile back was all a mother could ask for."
Culbert said he hopes to help set up a college fund for Avery and Alivia.
