WYOMING, Mich. - The family of a Wyoming teenager hit and killed by a car while riding his bicycle says the holidays without him are always the hardest.
So, every year Joe and Wendy Lorentz try to brighten the season with a big display of Christmas lights in memory of their son. 13-year-old Joey Lorentz was killed on April 21, 2007 while riding his bicycle near his home on Ariebill Street. The first Christmas after his death Lorentz's parents say they had to decide how they would carry on without him.
“Our first option was let’s just get out of town for the holidays because they are tough,” says Wendy Lorentz. “I mean, they are tough. But we found more enjoyment comes to us making other people happy and that’s what Joey would have wanted, too. We make it bigger and brighter every year.”
“I think it is wonderful that they do this,” says Lisa Johnston, who says she comes every year to see the display. “It's a great way to honor their sons memory.”
This year for the first time the family has extended their Christmas display to the front yards of 4 close neighbors. “They wanted to expand it,” says neighbor Bill Marsh. “It is all at their expense. We pay a little extra electric, but it is a small price to pay for a memorial and a celebration of family and loved ones.”
The lights are on on from 5:30 to 11:00 pm every day through January. The display is synched to music so visitors can tune in on their car radio. The family does not accept any donations.
"Just hearing the kids laugh and watching them thoroughly enjoy it is really what it is all about,” says Wendy. “It is all worth it to make somebody else smile.”