Bob Wietholter's creations made after death of his wife CARMEL, Ind., Oct. 25 (UPI) -- An Indiana auction house is selling a collection of life-sized figures created by an artist after the death of his wife. Wickliff Auctioneers, which is selling the collection Saturday at Wickliff's Carmel Gallery, said the late Bob Wietholter built a collection of "friends" and placed them around his home following the death of his wife four years ago, the Indianapolis Star reported Thursday. Kyle Wietholter, Bob's son, said her father honed his skills building figures for window displays at his Country Squire Flower Shop. He said his father was a renowned florist who was among a team hired to decorate the White House for President Gerald Ford. "It was something to keep him busy just something for him to do," Kyle Wietholter said of the figures. Let me put it this way, my brother and I never heard him talking to them. To him, they were just decorations. Darin Lawson, president of Wickliff Auctioneers, said the company has "never sold an estate collection as unique as this."