In Labor of Love, Illinois Man Drives 1,200 Miles with Crosses for Orlando Victims

Photos screenshots of KTRK segment

It wasn't the first time Greg Zanis has driven thousands of miles with hope and compassion as his passengers. And realistically, it probably won't be his last.

The Illinois resident crafts wooden crosses for the victims of tragedies, pouring his most recent heartfelt effort into the shooting at Orlando's Pulse nightclub. But he doesn't just build them. He loads them up and delivers them to where they're needed most, including 1,200 miles to the Orlando Health Medical Center, where many of the victims were treated. Forty-nine crosses — one for each person killed.

"My message today is love your brother, love your neighbor," Zanis told reporters as he lined the crosses along a curb. "Don't judge 'em."

Watch the video and get a better look at the crosses.

His other visits have included Newtown, Connecticut following the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012. There he planted 26 crosses. Where there is tragedy, Zanis makes the trek to bring light.

"I think it's absolutely beautiful and breathtaking that he drove 1,200 miles to bring these crosses here," one woman said of his action.

He encourages people to sign the crosses, even offering markers to transform the blank slates into beautiful tributes. Their pain might be all too familiar to Zanis, whose own father was murdered 20 years ago. Since then, he quit building houses and began building crosses, ABC7 reports. After the crosses are covered with messages of sympathy, he intends to give them to the families.

He shirks much of the credit for his work. Instead he puts his head down and gets to work, with few words.

"Just offering hope, in a very hopeless situation," he says.