Before Passing Away, Elderly Man Buys 14 Years Worth of Gifts for 2-Year-Old Neighbor
Friendships don’t always occur between people who share all of the same demographics. Sometimes individuals form unlikely bonds.
For instance, Lady meets the Tramp. Religious fiction writer Jerry B. Jenkins befriends horror scribe Stephen King.
Actor Ian McKellen and heartthrob Harry Styles strike up a friendship. And a nearly 90-year-old British man named Ken Watson became a lifelong friend of 2-year-old Cadi Williams.
According to CBS News, Watson had developed a deep adoration for little Cadi almost since the moment she was born. Cadi’s father, a BBC employee named Owen Williams, remembered how he met his admirably spry neighbor.
“Ken was a former salvage diver, seaman, carpenter, baker,” Williams said. “The first time I met him, he was bouncing a 20-foot ladder across the face of his house.
“He was on top. He was 83 at the time.”
That wasn’t the only daredevil stunt that Watson attempted. In fact, the old man had a downright wild streak.
When he turned 85, he decided to try skydiving. He also stood on top of an airplane (presumably while it was midair).
Our elderly neighbour passed away recently. His daughter popped round a few moments ago clutching a large plastic sack. In the sack were all the Christmas presents he’d bought for *our* daughter for the next thirteen years. ? pic.twitter.com/6CjiZ99Cor
— Owen Williams ??????? (@OwsWills) December 17, 2018
Pretty impressive for a man in his 80s. But even more impressive was how Watson ensured that his affection for Cadi would continue long after his demise.
The BBC reported that Watson recently passed away. And after his death, his daughter showed up at the Williams’ house.
“She was clutching this big bag plastic sack and I thought it was rubbish she was going to ask me to throw out,” Williams said. “But she said it was everything her dad had put away for Cadi.
“It was all of the Christmas presents he had bought for her.” Watson had purchased 14 Christmas presents, enough to see Cadi to her sixteenth birthday.
There was just one problem: He’d failed to label them by age.
So with the guidance of social media followers, Williams decided to open just one this year. It was Tomi Ungerer’s picture book “Christmas Eve at the Mellops.’”
“It’s difficult describing it because it was so unexpected,” Williams said. “I don’t know how long he put them away, whether it was over the last two years or whether he bought them towards the end of his life.”
Cadi won’t be the only one who ends up missing Watson. The Williams’ dog will as well.
“Our dog loved him. I mean, genuine visceral love,” Williams said.
“It was mainly due to the chocolate digestive biscuits he gave her on first meeting. She’d scream whenever she saw him.”
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