In the little more than a decade since their daughter tragically passed away from cancer, Greg and Dorrie DePedro, owners of the Coatesville Flower Shop, have given away enough free roses in her honor to fill Longwood Gardens.

Today, Aug. 23, on the 12th anniversary of Lisa DePedro’s death, her parents will again be giving away roses, Lisa’s favorite flower, by the dozens. By the end of the day, Greg and Dorrie estimate that they will have given away 98,000 roses since 2004.

“My wife and I were semi-retired back then, so Lisa basically ran the shop,” said Greg, now 67. “Her daughter was 9, and Lisa began having a little pain in her shoulder. So she went to see a chiropractor.

“He did some X-rays, and that’s when he saw her lungs. He said, ‘You better see someone.’ Within four months, she was gone.”

The outpouring of sympathy from the community when the 30-year-old Lisa was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer touched the DePedros.

“So many people wanted to do so much for us that, finally, we asked Lisa: ‘Is there anything you need?’” Greg said. “So many people wanted to help, and we didn’t know what to tell them.

“Her answer to us was ‘tell them to do something nice for someone today.’”

Thus began the legacy of Lisa’s Roses.

Today, anyone and everyone are invited to the Coatesville Flower Shop from 8:30 AM-4 PM to receive a dozen roses free of charge.

There is one stipulation: You keep one rose for yourself, and give the others to 11 people who need a smile, who need encouragement, who just need something nice done for them.

With each rose you give, you’re keeping Lisa’s memory alive.

“Several years ago, a lady came walking out of her gynecologist’s office, very distraught,” Greg said, recalling one of his favorite stories produced by the rose tradition.

“She obviously just received some devastating news. Someone who had stopped in our shop earlier to get their roses gave one to this woman, and said, ‘You look like you need this. Everything’s going to be OK.’

“That woman recovered, and sent us a note with a picture of the white rose. She said it lasted three weeks, which is unheard of. She said when she got the rose, she knew she was going to beat whatever it was that she had. Every year, we get a note from her. But she never signs it, so we don’t know her name.”

Lisa’s daughter Payton now works at the Coatesville Flower Shop, which Carmen and Peggy DePedro, Greg’s parents, opened in 1948. That’s four generations of their family to work in the business.

The DePedros are now trying to help other parents who have lost children. Greg and Dorrie invite them to bring in a picture to post on their Prayer Board.

“We want everyone who has unfortunately felt the same loss to share their child’s memory,” Greg said. “We want them to hand out the roses in their child’s name.”