Coventry family who lost a loved one gifted Christmas light display

COVENTRY, R.I. (WLNE) — A Coventry family received a special surprise — their very own Christmas display. On Monday, 9-year-old Katherine arrived home from school to a little bit of Christmas magic.

When Katherine was a baby, her father, Bradley Cooke died suddenly.

Cooke was also engaged to Katherine’s mom, Meghan Donnelly.

“The holidays are everything. her dad loved Thanksgiving, I loved Christmas, he also loved Halloween so that kind of really started our holidays, so even now I just kind of bring new traditions but old traditions to make him alive,” Meghan told ABC 6 News.

Meghan said understandably, December can be a difficult time for her family.

“Christmas is a little harder because he wasn’t there for many of them because he passed when she was young so just trying to bring some smiles and also keep his memory alive for her,” Meghan explained.

Each year, the organization Friend’s Way, chooses a family to surprise for the holiday season with decorations provided by SeaScape.

“It’s just a great way for me to share a great moment with my daughter and also a talking point that I can bring up about her Dad,” Meghan continued.

Friend’s Way is a bereavement center in Rhode Island, which Ryan Loiselle, the program director said provides support to families with children who have lost a loved one.

It’s also a program that Meghan and her daughter utilize.

“Holidays are hard. We hear that everyday while grieving is hard and they have shown up at everything, they are so communicative and both benefit from group and just knowing that we could get some lights on the house they were ecstatic,” Loiselle explained.

The look on Katherine’s face said it all Monday evening, she loves her new Christmas décor.

“I think its case in point, she dropped her bag here on the grass and just ran right up and she’s so happy to show off her dad and tell stories so this is really special,” Loiselle concluded.