Be Mindful: Keeping Traditions Alive

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Keeping traditions alive is important after the loss of a loved one, especially as the holidays approach.

One El Paso store is keeping tradition alive this year for the community, thanks to former customers, employees, and friends. Annie Brochu owned "Annie Mo's" holiday shop at 155 McCutcheon on El Paso's west side for more than 25 years. After recent health battles, including a diagnosis of aplastic anemia, she died in March of this year.

Thanks to former employees and customers who have jumped in to help, her husband Michael Ferris is keeping the store open this year. He says Annie considered her store a gift to El Paso. Apparently these women felt the same. Since May, the group has been working tirelessly to make Annie's vision for this holiday season come true. They've been stocking shelves, hanging wreaths, and decorating trees for excited customers.

"She left us a little notebook with some drawings and sketches of what her plan was for this year.  and that is why we're here today.  That's one of the last things she did," says former employee Mollie Stopani, who is helping run the store this year. She says working at Annie Mo's taught her not just decorating tips, but life lessons.

"I saw her build relationships with everyone who came in - first time or for the 20th time.  To her it didn't matter how much money you spent in the store, she cared for everyone as a person," Stopani says.

Annie Mo was a regular guest on ABC 7's Good Morning El Paso. She would share the latest trends, and demonstrate how to make a space look special using items already in most homes. She was also known for decorating the sets during the holiday season for ABC 7 newscasts.

As Ferris looks around the store, he seems proud. "I'd love to see her legacy live on.  When you're  grieving and when you've had a loss it's really helpful busy so this has definitely been a busy time and it's about to get even busier," he says.

Stopani agrees, saying, "I think she would be really proud, and I wish she was here to do this with, but  I'm happy  to be able to share this with everybody in the community," she says.

Ferris plans to keep Annie Mo's Holiday Shop open for years to come. For more information on the store, click here: https://www.facebook.com/AnnieMosHolidayShop/about/?_rdr.