By: Diana Johnsen
djohnsen@kcuatv.com
Building a new home.
It's a sign of his love and devotion.
"It's the least I could do for her."
Joe Schatz and his fiancé Michelle lost their home in Dakota Dunes to the 2011 Missouri River flood, and just one year later Joe lost Michelle, at the age of 34, to a heart attack, leaving behind their 2 year old daughter Brooklyn.
Now in her honor, Joe is building a new house.
"We we're going to start building when she passed away. So, when she passed away, that stopped everything," said Joe.
A moment that did not last very long.
With his love of Michelle pushing him, Joe started work on the new house with support from family and friends.
"Friends of mine from HCI in South Sioux City said, 'We're going to build this house.' HCI Construction and the guys there, this is kind of their baby," he added.
A baby that came from Michelle's plans.
She came up with some of the new house plans the same year she passed away.
She wanted to build the new home right in the same spot as the old one.
"Michelle loves the river. When we had opportunities to buy a different house somewhere else, she just wouldn't do it. She wanted to live out there."
Joe says he's running over budget in building the house, but he says it doesn't matter because it's something Michelle wanted, so he's going to get it done.
The house is expected to be done by April.
Joe says he's going to build a memorial space for Michelle in front of it.
