Family fulfills man’s vision with 80-foot cross along U.S. 70

“So my dad had this vision to put this cross up,” Jill said. “He didn’t really share it with us at first.”

Eventually, Brandt shared his plan: a cross on his land, visible to drivers traveling in both directions along U.S. 70.

Around that same time, the family learned their time with him was limited.

“He was diagnosed with cancer in about the same time when he told us all about it, and then he passed away in June,” Jill said.

Before his death, Brandt was able to work on the project with his grandson, Jackson Wallace.

“I really wanted him to see it, but I know he actually got to help work on it with us while he was still with us a little bit, so that means a lot to me,” Jackson said.

The two had spent years doing things side by side.

“He taught me how to hunt, how to fish, how to do stuff like this, and he was a great friend,” Jackson said.

As a mechanical engineer, Jackson used his experience to help move his grandfather’s idea forward. He also had a promise to keep.

“Jackson promised him, before he passed away, that he would finish it, and he did,” Jill said.

On Saturday, that promise rose above the same land Brandt loved, land his daughter said he was particular about, right down to its dogwood trees.

“He did not want to cut a single one down,” Jill said. “Every time one of them got knocked down, he would chastise everybody.”

Now, the cross stands among those trees, carrying forward the vision of the man who first imagined it.

“I do believe he’s seeing it, and I think he’s very proud of us,” Jill said.

Brandt wanted the cross to point people toward God. His family hopes that message reaches everyone who passes this stretch of U.S. 70.