a loving christmas gift beyond the grave that took a family by surprise. that s why it is our favorite story of the day. brenda schmitz died of cancer in 2011. before she died, she wrote to a radio station asking her to fulfill three wishes for her husband and his new fiancee. here s abc s john donvan. reporter: it s a christmas wish letter written like none other. the writer who wrote it nearly two years ago died soon afterwards of cancer. the wish she made it in came to life last week. david, the husband she left behind, unaware the letter existed, asked to drop by des moines radio station star 102.5. you lost your wife brenda a couple of years ago to cancer. reporter: at first they talked a little bit about brenda, and david could barely get through it. she was very strong, accepted what happened to her.