By Brandy Donaldson, bdonaldson@qconline.com

More photos from this shoot

Photo: Gary Krambeck The Easter bunny gives a hug and presents Adrianna Miller a plush toy Easter bunny to the 100 year old Rosewood Care Center resident on Easter Sunday. The Easter bunny visited several nursing homes in the area during Easter season to give residents toy animals.

After a hundred Easters, Andriana Miller, still gets elated at the sight of the Easter Bunny.

"It's going to me make cry. He's so beautiful. He looks so pretty," said Ms. Miller, a resident of Rosewood Care Center in Moine who will turn 101 next month.

Rosewood was the ninth Quad-Cities area nursing home that Tommie Shaddon of East Moline, her three sisters and mother have visited in the last two weeks, surprising residents at every stop with a visit from the Easter Bunny and leaving them with a little something to remember her by.

About nine years ago, the sisters started renting an Easter Bunny costume for their family egg hunts. After shelling out about $100 a year to rent it, they decided four years ago to buy their own.

Since they typically celebrate the holiday as a family on Saturday, the sisters thought the outfit could go to a better use on Easter Sunday. Now, they spend their holiday spreading cheer throughout the area.

"I think God just told us we needed to do more with that costume, and here we are," Mrs. Shaddon said Sunday. "We thought, why waste it? Let's go make some people happy on Easter Sunday.

"We want to create memories for people, and nursing homes are our top priority. After that, if we just want to have more fun, we'll ride around and just see who we can surprise."

The Easter Bunny, played by eldest sister Irene Mawson, doesn't come empty handed. The sisters spend several months gathering as many stuffed easter toys as possible to distribute in the nursing homes.

This year, they got some donations from the Mixtecas motorcycle club of East Moline and Silvis, Rock Island Arsenal employees, East Moline American Legion and Wal-Mart. They gave away 1,060 plush Easter animals and drove as far as Walcott spreading Easter cheer.

Ms. Miller was not the only one at Rosewood Care Center delighted by the Easter Bunny's visit. Many others smiled, posed for pictures and embraced the bunny as she hopped through the halls and dining room.

Resident Elinor Gotthardt said it made her feel like a kid again. "This is very impressive. I haven't seen a Easter Bunny for years.''

Resident Coletta Dalton said she planned to give her stuffed animal to her great-granddaughter.

"This is great. People get a lot of enjoyment out of things like this," she said. "Once in a while we have activities, but I know everyone enjoyed this."

Johnny, another resident who was all smiles after the bunny left his table, planned to keep his present. He also said it made him feel like a child again.

Those reactions make it all worthwhile, Mrs. Shaddon said.

"Some people cry when you give them thier stuffed toy. And I have to fight back tears when I see them hug that bunny and pat her on the back," Mrs. Shaddon said.

"And they can't believe you're actually leaving something for them to keep that's special from the bunny. It's the neatest thing. Just seeing the expressions on their faces is enough for me."

Anyone interested in helping Tommie Shaddon and her family reach even more people next year should call Mrs. Shaddon at (309) 756-6438.