‘HE’S GUIDING THEM’
Hixon family, which lost dad Chris at MSD, gets Montel Williams home makeover
Volunteers paint the home of Debbi Hixon, wife of the late Chris Hixon, during filming of “Military Makeover.” Chris Hixon, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High athletic director who died during the Parkland school shooting, was a 27-year Navy veteran. and their families. Chris, a military policeman, was a 27-year Navy veteran and twice deployed to the Persian Gulf.
The show is hosted by Montel Williams, a television and radio host who served in the Navy and Marine Corps.
Jennifer Bertrand, the show’s designer, said she went shopping with the family to learn their style preferences. Hixon told her she likes the color of the ocean and calming blues, although the house had many neutral colors with a splash of red on the fireplace.
Bertrand said she took into account the family’s suffering as she redesigned the rooms of the 1,300-square-foot house, which has three bedrooms and three bathrooms, a pool and a study.
“She’s experienced enough trauma,” Bertrand said. “We want to give the family a place to celebrate life and permission to heal.”
Although the house will be filled with new colors and new furniture, several picture ledges will be filled with photos of Chris, Bertrand said. The house has been emptied out, but everything has been saved in storage.
The public is invited to welcome the Hixons back into their renovated home at 4 p.m. Friday. Hundreds of people are expected to line their street and cheer as they return.