Widow Honors Late Husband's Dream, Sends 75-Year-Old Tree to Rockefeller Center

In a heartwarming tribute, Judy Russ is carrying on her late husband Dan's lifelong dream of getting their family's 75-foot-tall Norway spruce to the front of Rockefeller Center. The tree, planted around 75 years ago by Dan's great-grandparents in the yard of their East Greenbush home, is now set to become one of the most iconic Christmas trees in the world.

Five years after Dan passed away at the young age of 32, Judy decided to make their dream a reality. On November 8th, the tree was transported from the Russ family home to the center of Midtown Manhattan for the holidays. "As my husband has passed away, I know he would have loved to have been here for this moment," Judy told NBC. "We always talked about it being the (Rockefeller Center) tree. It's so special that my family's tree gets to be America's, if not the world's, Christmas tree."

Judy's 7-year-old son, Liam, is equally excited, saying, "I'm excited that the whole world can see it." After visiting the biggest Christmas tree in New York City last year, the family realized their own spruce back home was the perfect candidate. With the help of a family friend, they connected with Rockefeller Center's head gardener, Erik Pauze, who confirmed the tree would soon be adorned with 50,000 lights and a Swarovski star.

As the tree makes its grand arrival at Rockefeller Center on November 8th, Judy and Liam look forward to attending the lighting ceremony on December 3rd. "Well, I cry at home in my living room when the tree is lit, so I'm probably going to be inconsolable that day, but it's going to be great," Judy said, dedicating each shining light to her late husband. "Spread joy, spread cheer, love one another. Think of our family, think of my husband, think of us. We're just happy to share it with everybody."