Even though Lonnie Burrell left the workforce decades ago, you can still find him spending the entire day at the Riverview Retirement Community’s lumberyard.
Grandfather, 82, gathers wood scraps and crafts them into miniature hearts. He makes every encounter into an emotional experience.
“I hope people think they are special and will be loved,” said Lonnie Burrell.
Lani has been handcrafting little hearts out of hundreds of pieces of wood for the past 20 years.
But as he informs you, he only recently developed this passion.
“I created a heart for my wife in my basement since I noticed a lovely tree there. I kept doing it because she enjoyed it, Loney added.
He has created roughly 1,500 hearts this year alone.
Loni drew each heart, cut it out, and smoothed it using paper and three different sands.
A wooden heart is made in roughly 20 minutes.
Lani has always had a passion for carpentry and is more eager to perform this activity.
He made truck racks and popcorn bowls as a boy growing up on an Oregon farm so they could transport their cattle to the show.
He is now employing his skills to improve the lives of total strangers.
“I want to ensure that everyone has a heart. I can communicate with everybody, including a housekeeper, a shop clerk, and little kids. I check on their mother to see if she’s okay and inquire about any cardiac needs, Lani added.
Loni always has her heart full of pockets when she leaves the house.
He recently gave a woman waiting in queue at Costco a beautiful heart with a knot on it.
“When I handed it to her, she had tears in her eyes. She confessed, ‘I have a hole in my heart since my kid died last year,'” Loney recalled.
Lani started giving her wooden hearts to the area’s schools around ten years ago.
Counselors will shatter the heart collection and invite a pupil to select one when they are going through a difficult moment.
Hearts are constructed of several types of wood.
“Every school counselor has a tale to tell. AA sad child once visited a school counselor’s office, and they allowed him to take a heart. The youngster said, “In it came my angel,” describing how the tree’s grain resembled a man holding outstretched hands.
In times like this, Loni works in the woods, sanding, cutting, and sanding to ensure that every heart is in the correct place.
Therefore, everyone carries a small token of affection in their pocket.
It’s worthwhile to do. I must continue. Many people suffer from broken hearts. Loney stated, “It’s not about me; it’s about the heart.
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