An octogenarian in Wales, United Kingdom who died recently has gotten people feeling the tug of the yuletide season even after his passing, when he left behind 14 Christmas gifts for the 2-year-old neighbor he doted on.
Owen Williams was saddened when his neighbor Ken Watson, who is in his late 80s, recently passed away. Imagine his surprise then when Watson’s daughter showed up in their door on Monday, Dec. 17, clutching a large plastic sack full of gifts for his two-year-old daughter, as seen via Twitter on the same day.
His tweet, which had gone viral, has garnered over 6,300 retweets and 33,000 likes, as of this writing.
I miscounted. It’s fourteen gifts.
He always told us he’d live till he was 100-years-old, so these gifts would have taken him up to our little girl’s 16th Christmas.
— Owen Williams 🏴 (@OwsWills) December 17, 2018
“He always told us he’d live till he was 100 years old, so these gifts would have taken him up to our little girl’s 16th Christmas,” Williams wrote.
“It’s difficult describing it because it was so unexpected,” Williams told BBC yesterday, Dec. 18. “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.”
“We can tell there’s some books, there’s three or four soft toys, maybe some Duplo,” he added, stating what he thinks were wrapped in the 14 gifts. They opened one of the gifts yesterday, a copy of the book by French artist and writer Tomi Ungerer titled “Christmas Eve at the Mellops”.
We opened one. We couldn’t resist. pic.twitter.com/vlNaRjoFoE
— Owen Williams 🏴 (@OwsWills) December 17, 2018
Watsons, who was a former salvage diver, seaman, carpenter and baker, as per William’s separate tweet, made headlines in 2016 for his love of adventurous challenges which includes wing walking, an act where a person walks on the wings of a plane during flight, and skydiving. True to the elderly’s daredevil spirit, the first time Williams met Watson, the latter was bouncing on top of a 20-foot ladder.
The octogenarian was loved by everyone in the Williams household, including their dog whom he fondly refers to as “my darling” and “sweetheart.” Watson gave the dog chocolate digestive biscuits during their first meeting.
Our dog loved him. I mean, genuine visceral love. It was mainly due to the chocolate digestive biscuits he gave her on first meeting. She’d scream whenever she saw him. Really scream. Like a banshee. He’d call her “my darling” and “sweetheart”.
This is her first meeting. pic.twitter.com/DoG1F8mprO
— Owen Williams 🏴 (@OwsWills) December 17, 2018
Williams has only one hope amid the attention his story is experiencing.
And now @TwitterMoments have jumped on board!
I sincerely hope I’ve done Ken and his family justice in all this.
(It’s starting to feel like the plot of a Richard Curtis Christmas film)
https://t.co/uOAgHreVNK— Owen Williams 🏴 (@OwsWills) December 18, 2018
“I sincerely hope I’ve done Ken and his family justice in all this,” he shared. JB
RELATED STORIES:
Forget the snacks: Charity vending machines dish out gifts for poor
