Family displays deceased woman’s collection to help deal with her loss

 Santa Claus figurines covering a card table in Lula Hurxthal’s living room represent much more than the jolly spirit of the holidays.

Hurxthal, 88, of Galesburg, is displaying her late daughter Beverly Wade’s St. Nick collection as a way to help the family deal with their first Christmas without her.

“We miss her,” Hurxthal said, pointing out one of her favorite pieces in her daughter’s collection – a regal portrait of Santa, painted by Wade on a wooden sled.

Wade died in August at age 68, after battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer for 10 years.