A Generous Neighbor Leaves 14 Years of Christmas Gifts for a Little Girl

A child’s book was one of 14 Christmas gifts Ken Watson left for his neighbor’s little girl
Credit: Owen Williams via Twitter

A touching Christmas story emerged from the seaside resort of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, on Wednesday that has people all over the world smiling through their tears. A dying elderly man, Ken Watson, apparently spent the days before his death shopping for Christmas gifts for his neighbor’s 2-year old daughter, Cadi. In all, he bought 14 year’s worth of presents for the little girl before he died.

Owen Williams, Cadi’s father, said he “couldn’t believe his eyes” when Ken’s daughter showed up on his doorstep with a huge bag filled with gifts shortly after her father’s death. “She said ‘these are presents for Cadi for the next few Christmases — it’s quite heavy’. She was quite emotional and I got a lump on my throat,” Williams said in a statement to CNN.

An Instant Bond

Williams and Ken first met two years ago when Ken was 83. The Williams family had just moved in next door when Owen spotted Ken perched on a 20-foot ladder draped over the roof of his house trying to get some scaffolding set up. When the old man came down, Williams gave him a bottle of wine, and Ken offered Williams’ dog some cookies. “The dog fell in love with him since then,” Williams said. “She’d scream whenever she saw him. Really scream, Like a banshee.” Williams wrote in his Twitter feed.

Ken Watson
Credit: barryanddistrictnews.co.uk

Still, Williams and his wife had no idea that Ken, a former seaman, salvage marine diver, carpenter, cook and engineer, was storing up presents for Cadi to open after his death. “I’m gobsmacked at how you could plan this for 14 years,” Williams said, adding “ It’s an unbelievable Christmas story.”

The William’s family already opened one of Cadi’s presents — a child’s book, “Christmas Eve at the Mellops’.” “We couldn’t resist,” William’s said.

A Fitting End

Somehow this grand gesture seems a fitting end for Ken Watson, who took up parachute jumping and “wing walking” after his wife died in 2012. A man who enjoyed solitary activities — playing the accordion, writing (he was working on a book when he died), and listening to classical music — he began the daredevil pursuits to avoid sitting at home watching TV.

Ken Watson atop a bi-plane
Credit: barryanddistrictnews.co.uk

“After my wife had passed away I took a long time to settle. There’s a space around me. I still hear her voice and speak to her” he told Barry & District News in 2016. So he began jumping out of airplanes and wing walking, strapped to the top wing of a biplane as it soars through the sky, to combat the loneliness. And apparently it worked. According to Williams, Watson was planning another wing-walking adventure shortly before his death.

A man who wasn’t afraid to live life to the fullest, Ken Watson’s generosity of spirit means he will live on in the hearts of millions of people across the globe even after his death.