A woman who made a Christmas ornament from her husband's glasses is warming people's hearts after sharing her creation in a viral Facebook post.
Christy Hester of Twin Lake, Michigan, saved her husband's glasses after he died in January. In his memory, she used the glasses, pipe cleaners, acrylic paint and a marker to craft a snowman ornament to hang on the tree.
Pictures of the ornament were shared by thousands after Hester added them to a public Facebook group called Rainbows over Michigan.
"I'm a middle school teacher, and I said to the kids, 'Am I going viral?'" Hester told "Good Morning America." "I asked what do you guys think is a lot [of likes], and they said 10,000. I said, 'I'm up to 18,000.' So, I went up a couple notches in the cool factor, I guess."
"His glasses always sat at the bedside table," Hester added. "Some things you keep, and some things you don't. I decided to keep them."
Richard Hester died in his home on Jan. 5 surrounded by family. The 89-year-old father of five had heart and lung complications, which were not coronavirus-related.
Richard and Christy Hester had two children and two grandchildren. Hester described her husband as a man with a great sense of humor who loved fishing on his pontoon boat while Hester read a book beside him.
After Richard died, Hester sought support from online grief groups. On one page, she saw an idea to transform Richard's glasses into an ornament. She later made another using his second pair.
Hester said there were "lots of tears" during the process, though she's grateful to have reached so many through her project.
"I've appreciated the prayer and condolences from people I've never met and probably will never meet, because for whatever reason, this has touched their hearts," she added.
Hester said the ornaments will likely be passed on to younger generations within her family.
