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One winter about 15 years ago, Marianne Meed Ward was driving her three young children through the streets of Burlington, Ont., in an effort to lull them to sleep.

As she approached the 3000-block of Spruce Avenue, traffic slowed to a crawl. Before them was the most “spectacular sight.”

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“The kids’ jaws dropped. If I hadn’t been driving I’d love to have captured it on film,” she said.

What they had stumbled upon was the elaborate Christmas light display put on each year at the home of Douglas Musson — a display so brilliant not only for its sheer wattage but also for its intricate wire-framed decorations.

Photo by Handout

On Wednesday, Meed Ward joined throngs of local residents in mourning the death of Musson, 82, two days earlier. According to his son, Musson fell from his roof while tending to the display.

News of Musson’s death drew an immediate outpouring of well-wishes on social media, as well as an online campaign to raise funds for his family and to keep the light display going.