Dad raises monarch butterflies which remind him of deceased 15-yr-old daughter

• Frank O’Donnell’s 15-year-old daughter Keri passed away.
• A week after her passing, Frank was dazed by an unexpected visit from a monarch butterfly whose colors were Keri’s favorites.
• Frank identified the butterfly with her and thought of raising its breed to honor her late daughter’s love.

Whether it’s his daughter’s way of reaching to him or not, Frank O’Donnell’s near-extinction butterfly cultivation is surely a beautiful thing.

A week after 15-year-old Keri passed away, a monarch butterfly — with bright orange and black wings, Keri’s favorite colors — paid Frank a visit. That moment, according to the grieving father, gave him a ray of solace in that dusky day.

Frank thought that Keri was letting him know that her love for her dad had never left. In response to the ‘supernatural’ gesture, Frank decided to make a memorial garden in Keri’s name.

Frank’s interest in monarch butterflies grew strongly, profoundly linking them with her late daughter. He then started to study them, where he learned that his beloved Lepidoptera species was in danger of getting extinct.

“Monarchs, to me, are Keri,” Frank said. “I love seeing the other butterflies too, but the monarchs are what reminds me of her, just because of that one monarch that visited the week after her funeral,” he told The Boston Globe.

The devoted dad began growing milkweed, monarchs’ favorite food, and adopted a batch of monarch larvae from the conservation group Monarch Watch. Frank was able to raise the brood in a garden shed full of Keri’s photos.

Frank, probably now a conservationist in his own little way, managed to raise 27 butterflies who were set free to roam the garden before setting off on their 3,000-mile migration to Mexico.

When the breeding season was over, Frank was still left with a substantial supply of milkweed seeds. So, to keep the monarch species, along with the memories of her daughter, alive, Frank shared them with anyone who asked from across the country.

“I guess I’ve become more spiritual, not necessarily in a religious sense, but you know, nature does a lot of stuff,” Frank told the Globe. “And, I honestly do believe that she’s around. Every once in a while, you’ve got like a little tingle and you know, it’s just like, somebody is paying attention.”

Source: Good News Network