‘It was very touching’: Family uses Halloween display to support neighbor undergoing cancer treatment

OXFORD, Ohio (WXIX/Gray News) - A Halloween display outside of an Ohio home is cheering up someone living in the neighborhood most in need of some delight.

Bill Pyles, the owner of the home, said he was expecting the worst when he came home one day to find a note in his mailbox addressed to “The Bone Family.”

Pyles and his family have decorated for Halloween for several years, collecting multiple skeletons to display in the front yard of their Oxford home.

Their initial setup included 5-foot tall skeletons, and now they have some that are 12 feet tall.

The display has been well received, with plenty of cars passing by and honking horns. However, Pyles said they receive the occasional “nastygram” in his mailbox.

Instead of a nastygram in his mailbox on this day, he discovered his family’s Halloween display was bringing someone joy when they needed it most.

Tammy Weihe was diagnosed with breast cancer in May. Her one highlight during trips to the hospital was passing by the skeleton display.

She said she wrote the letter to thank the family for giving her some brightness during a dark time.

“I’ve been driving past your house for the past 19 days on my way to radiation,” the note reads. “A highlight of my journey has been checking to see who else has joined the bone family and what they’re up to. Thankfully, Wednesday, Sept. 11, is my final radiation treatment, though I may need to continue driving by once in a while to see what’s new. Thanks for the diversion, Tammy.”

Weihe said the witty and funny changes the family would make to the skeleton display were her favorite things to look for during her trips.

“There’s skeletons washing the car,” Weihe said. “You’d see ‘Oh, they have a dog, well, we have a dog.’ Making those connections matter.”

In response to the note, the Pyles made a special display change on Wednesday.

Staying up through the night to work on the display, the family made signs encouraging Weihe on her last day of treatment.

“Today as we zipped by, it said, ‘Good Job! You made it!’” Weihe said. “We stopped after treatment and got some pictures. It was very touching.”

Pyles said they’ll keep the display up for a week after Halloween. He said they’re always rearranging the skeletons throughout the season.

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