Man behind popular Christmas display dies after falling from roof

An Ontario man known for decking his house in brilliant Christmas lights for more than three decades died this week after falling from his roof while tending to the annual display, his family said as members of the community mourned his death.

The family of Douglas Musson of Burlington, Ont., said the 82-year-old had been trying to fix a leak on Monday when the ladder he was on fell.

“He was up on a ladder trying to find out why water was dripping on the pathway which might drip on visitors to the display, when the ladder fell,” the family said in a statement on its website. “He died in hospital.”

Musson began decorating his home with lights in Calgary before moving to Burlington in 1976, the family said. He had been adding more lights and figures to his display each year, and eventually the home on Spruce Avenue became known as Burlington’s “Griswold house,” after the brightly lit home in the film “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”

“Our family is devastated. I debated even turning on the lights but decided he would want them on and he worked hard on making all of the displays,” Musson’s son, Scott, wrote in an online post.

Scott Musson, 56, said in an interview Wednesday evening that his family thought they would have to cancel the Christmas display next year because his father was the sole provider.

“Because of the support we are getting, both financially and mentally, we need to continue (the display),” he said. “Right now my plan is, whatever it