IN TULLAHOMA, Mary Kay and Tim Counts are known for many things: being Jack Daniel’s collectors, riding Harley- Davidsons, keeping their lawn immaculately groomed, etc. But one thing separates them from the other Jack Daniel’s-loving, lawn-mowing, biker couples in Tennessee: they had a Christmas tree for every single room in their home.
There’s a frog-themed tree, a golf tree, a Precious Moments tree, a snowman tree, and a Jack Daniel’s tree (of course), among others. Their display even landed them a spot on the Holiday Homes Tour twice.
Mary Kay’s fondness for Christmas trees was sparked in 1987 when a co-worker gifted her a Hallmark Christmas ornament that set the wheels in motion. As she puts it, “I got hooked on ‘em.” But it was a visit to her mother-in-law’s home, adorned with a Christmas tree in every room of their centuries-old home, that solidified her plans.
The couple’s Christmas collection grew as the years passed, encompassing even more diverse themes. Every corner of her home transformed into a holiday haven, from the jovial peppermint candy tree to the serene lighthouse tree. Year after year, Tim and Mary Kay spent hours together perfecting each room, each tree, each branch, and each ornament.
“We worked our butts off for a week to get everything done,” Mary Kay said.
It wasn’t easy, but it gave Mary Kay and Tim another thing to do together. And after he passed away in April, it’s the quality time that Mary Kay will cherish forever.
“When I look back, it’s all good memories,” Mary Kay said. “Since he is no longer here, you think about the good times — just going out the day after Christmas and trying to find all the ornaments half-price… it was just fun.”
Tim was six years into his retirement. Mary Kay said he worked out five days a week and never drank or smoked. One day, he called Mary Kay while she was at the gym and said he thought he had gallstones because his stool was “as white as snow.”
“I come home because I know something ain’t right, and within two hours, he was jaundiced,” Mary Kay remembered. “He had never had surgery in his whole life — even still had his tonsils. Life was good… ”
They quickly went to the hospital. Tim was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer that same day. He was initially given six months to live, and at that moment, Mary Kay said, everything changed.
“It was all about him. Whatever he wanted, he was going to get,” she said. “You can’t give up. You have to keep going. I just kept everything negative away from him from that day on. Having a positive mindset changed everything. It played a huge role in his treatment.”
Tim endured 27 months of chemotherapy. Remarkably, he persevered until April 15, over two years from his prognosis.
“Twenty-three months into his diagnosis, Tim was working out in the yard,” Mary Kay said. “Looking back, it blows me away.”
“A little over a month before he passed, he told me that he thought God had given me a test, and I had surpassed that test and done everything humanly possible for him. And because of that, God would bless me,” Mary Kay said. “I was crying and asked him why he wasn’t, and he said, ‘Because I’m at peace, Mary Kay. Having peace is God’s grace.’”
A couple of months before he passed, Tim wrote out his testimony to share with others, recounting how he came to the church during his treatment:
“We have a back patio that faces the sunrise, so I thought I would watch the sun come up. I tell everyone I didn’t hear a voice, but it was like God was sending me a message that he was going to let me see many more sunrises. That was over two years ago. I’m so thankful for this extra time with Mary Kay and my family. The power of prayer is real!”
“If God can find it in His heart to love and forgive a sinner like me, then there is hope for everyone,” he wrote.
Mary Kay and Tim went to Navarre Beach every year. This August, Mary Kay went without him.
“It was bittersweet, but it was a good healing time, and he wanted me to go on living,” she said. “You still gotta keep living — you have to. I can remember my mama always telling me: ‘We’re all going to die. We just don’t know how and when.’”
This year is a year of firsts for Mary Kay — her first birthday since Tim passed, the first time she spent their wedding anniversary on July 4 without him, her first solo vacation, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and his birthday — all reminders of the life and love they shared for 23 years.
Tim and his doctors did everything they could to give him more holidays, more birthdays, and more time. Mary Kay said she’s grateful for every second of it.
“The first year I know is going to be the hardest,” she said. “It ain’t going to be easy, but I promised Tim I would be okay. I’m proud of him. He was such a fighter.”
The Christmas trees will take a backseat this year, although Mary Kay said she’ll put up her favorites. She spent the last two Christmases wondering if each would be Tim’s last. Now, she will spend this one making new memories with family and friends. After all, ever since his diagnosis, Mary Kay said she has cherished her time a little differently.
“God blessed us with more time, and time is your most precious commodity. I mean, that’s all we got is time,” she said. “Nothing else really matters. Make those memories and don’t sweat the small stuff. We all get wrapped up in life, but at the end of the day, it’s your family that matters, and that’s what Christmas is all about.” GN
