Two years ago, Mrs Brenda Schmitz lost her battle with ovarian cancer in September 2011. But she continued to bring Christmas cheer to her family this holiday season, reported CNN.com on Monday.

Before her death, the mother of four boys wrote a letter to the Star 102.5 Iowa radio station's Christmas Wish programme, instructing a friend to mail it only after her husband, David, had fallen in love again.

A heartfelt YouTube video published on Friday showed the station's radio host reading the letter to a teary Mr Schmitz while he was in the studio. The video has since garnered over a million views and their story has made international headlines.

"My reason for writing is this. I have a wish. I have a wish for David, the boys, and the woman and her family if she has kids also. I want them to know I love them very much," Mrs Schmitz wrote in the letter. She added that she wants them to "always feel safe in a world of pain."

In the letter, she listed three wishes:

- A day of pampering for Mr Schmitz's new partner, Jayne Abraham. "She deserves it, being a stepmother to all those boys. Make her smile and know her efforts are truly appreciated from me."

- A "magical trip" for the family.

- A fun-filled night out for the cancer doctors who treated her at Mercy Medical Hospital.

Mrs Schmitz included a separate letter for Ms Abraham, who has two children of her own.

Star 102.5 and local sponsors will granted of Mrs Schmitz's three wishes, sending the family of eight on an all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World.