I finally got to give it to him, and he loves it as much as I do. This is the kind of thing that will make people say either, "ZOMG awesome!" or, "Only you guys would do that." :)
First, the source photo:
And now...the painting:
Thanks to Rob Sacchetto of
http://www.zombieportraits.com, and to his wife, Andrea, for coordinating the process! :)