Vermilion County father growing sunflowers to combat grief

INDIANOLA, Ill. (WCIA) — One father in Vermilion County is using his heartbreak to create something beautiful.

Michael Dokey is using sunflowers to write his daughter’s name in his front yard. After the sudden loss of multiple family members, Dokey took it upon himself to create a living memorial in his front yard. He says he’s doing it all out of grief — and love.

“Have her look down from heaven and just know that we still love her,” Dokey said.

Michael Dokey is an elementary school physical education teacher in Danville. This year, he’s gone through four different tragedies.

“I lost my dad, my daughter, my brother-in-law, an uncle within four months,” Dokey said. “You know, they say it comes in threes, and it came in four’s for us. But, you know, we’ve got a good, strong family and, you know, pushing through it.”

Dokey’s daughter, Macey, was a 29-year-old nurse at Carle in Urbana. She passed away in late January.

“Everybody helps get me through it. This really does. So this means a lot to me,” says Dokey.

In June, he began planting a project that was close to his heart, using sunflowers to spell Macey’s name in his Indianola front yard. He even included a heart after her name — her exact signature.

“I just wanted to do something special. And I knew that her favorite flower was the sunflower. And I was like, you know, I think I can do this. I can just draw her name with a tractor tiller and then this. I just broadcast the seeds and went over it. And good Lord, we had the rain. It really helped it through. And it’s just thrived,” says Dokey.

Over a dark period for the family, her name has only continued to grow, bringing some light when they need it most.

“She knows how much we loved her. And, you know, she’s — I’m sure she’s proud of this and looking down and just saying, you know, ‘Thanks, Dad,'” he said.

Dokey said he is planning on keeping the sunflower patch moving forward. He wants to come up with new ideas to keep it special.

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