If anyone can imagine what it would be like to be Mrs. Clause, it’s Candy Speakmon. While Candy wasn’t married to Santa, her husband, Ed, was known to Keller locals as “Mr. Christmas.” A Keller city councilmember, mayor pro tem and auto worker, Ed’s love of Christmas could be seen from the streets, as his home dominated in Keller’s decorating contest year after year. It’s one of the reasons why the city named its Best in Theme award after Ed last year following his passing, ensuring his love of Christmas and people lives on.
I’VE BEEN MARRIED TO ED… since 1975. I was 22, recently divorced and had two little girls. He joined the service back in 1966 during the Vietnam War. After he finished three tours, he came to Dallas.
WE ACTUALLY MET... on a blind date. I was supposed to go on a date with another man, and he asked why don’t we double-date with this guy named Ed? This was before cell phones, so we couldn’t call him to see if he found a date. When we went to his apartment, we found out Ed didn’t have one, so the three of us ended up going on the date together. I ended up liking Ed more than the other guy.
ED WAS… a very unique person. He made you laugh all the time. He was a really funny guy. He fell in love with my kids immediately and treated them so well. He was a jet engine mechanic and could fix anything. He had a creative mind that came up with the most unbelievable ideas. He was just a terrific man.
WHEN HE STARTED OFF DECORATING… he started very small. Originally he just had a few lights and decorations inside his apartment. When we got married and moved into a house, he started getting more elaborate with the outside lighting. Then in the early ’90s, we stumbled into a Department 56 store and saw all of these little displays of these Christmas villages. His interest grew from there, and he became a master of building displays out of styrofoam. He got so good at it that people would ask him to build miniature displays for their own homes. He ended up going to people’s houses all around the Metroplex and making their inside and outside look beautiful. They’d bring him out to Department 56 conventions, and he’d show people how to do the stuff that he does. He even decorated the inside of Keller Town Hall.
ED USED TO HAVE A FRIEND NAMED… Bob Irzyk, who used to be the sportscaster for Dallas TV. Ed would decorate his home back in the 2000s, and one day Bob remarked that Ed was ‘Mr. Christmas.’ That’s where the ‘Mr. Christmas’ name came from.
I WOULD DROP MY JAW… at Ed’s newest decorative feat almost every year. He did so many unbelievable things, and he’d do it all himself. He’d trace, cut and paint all new wood decorations to fit the theme of that year’s decorating contest. He’d make trees out of rebar steel, put reindeers on a sleigh, dress up mannequins. One time, he carved a life-sized boat out of a huge piece of styrofoam, put a Santa mannequin fishing on it, lit it up and put it in the middle of the pond behind our house. Then he floated a 14-foot lit Christmas tree with presents above the pond. Everything he did was just incredible. The ideas never stopped for him.
ED WAS… the kind of person who everybody would come to if they needed help for anything. Ed never turned down helping anybody, ever. He’d pick up hitchhikers. If anyone was on the side of the road with their car, he’d stop to help them. He’d come home every day and tell me how much he loved everyone who worked with the city. Every time he went to city hall, he went around and said hello to everybody. He never missed doing that, not one time. That’s just the kind of person he was.
WHEN ED DIED LAST YEAR… it was very hard, especially around Christmastime. All of the kids and grandkids went to my son’s house, and we all spent Christmas there. We were all together at his house, and we saw how he set up, built and decorated the outside and inside of his home. Ed showed him how to do that. All of our kids carry his traditions in one way or another.