Joe Mikolajczak wanted to put up a billboard to commemorate his 50th wedding anniversary last Saturday, but his wife, Marylou, died six months short of their milestone.
So Joe turned the sign into a testament of his undying love, NBC local affiliate WGRZ reported. The billboard went up as planned, off Interstate 190 in Buffalo, N.Y., with a "happy anniversary" message printed across the top. Commemorating the years of Marylou's life, the sign displays "1944-2013" and includes the following message from her husband: "I will love you forever -- Joe."
Every 40 seconds the electronic display rotates pictures of Marylou, who Joe says was beautiful inside and out. He wanted to make sure passersby on the road knew that, too. "I just wanted her to have some sort of recognition," Joe told WGRZ.
Other outlets were touched by the gesture. "Any guy who fancies himself a romantic can pack it up today," AdWeek wrote.
BuzzFeed readers reached for their hankies. "Who put these damn onions next to to my computer ... " one commenter said.
But our favorite came from a responder who asked of 73-year-old Joe: "Does he have a 29-year-old brother?"
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