Dad Bought Son Perfect Birthday Gift Before He Died, Video Brings Viewers to Tears

Paula Liu
By Paula Liu
February 23, 2019Entertainment
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Dad Bought Son Perfect Birthday Gift Before He Died, Video Brings Viewers to Tears
A birthday balloon. (Aubrey Fernandez/Unsplash)

Johnathan Crow, an aspiring guitarist, got the best surprise birthday present for his 16th birthday.

Crow’s dad bought the present, a Dean Razorback guitar, for him a few months in advance. However, his father then unexpectedly passed away, according to Pete Kruse, the owner of the Port Huron Music Center.

A video of Johnathan that was posted on Reddit over a year ago, featured Crow’s response to the surprise, and got many positive comments from users on Reddit who replied with heartfelt messages as well as support and best wishes for him.

And him receiving it. ��

Chandler Mae Crow 发布于 2017年6月7日周三

Crow’s sister, Chandler Mae Crow, posted on Facebook about Johnny’s 16th birthday—and Johnny’s first birthday without their father. However, she added that their father was full of surprises.

Chandler Mae Crow said that when she dropped her brother off for his guitar lesson a month before his birthday, an instructor showed her the present that their dad bought—meant for her brother. Chandler Mae Crow was shocked, but had to keep it a secret until her brother’s birthday.

“This morning I woke up and picked up my brother from school and blindfolded him. Drove him to the music center and this is the outcome. A big thank you goes out to the Port Huron Music Center, who helped keep my dad’s dream alive. Happy 16th birthday buddy. Dad is so proud of you. I love you more than words can describe,” she wrote.

So today is my little brothers 16th birthday, and his first birthday without our dad. But, dad was always filled with…

Chandler Mae Crow 发布于 2017年6月7日周三

Many Reddit users commented that they wanted to help pay for Crow’s guitar lessons, as well as other equipment. Kruse set up a PayPal fund for Crow, and within one day, with the combined efforts of Reddit, the fund garnered $16,250. Some of the users gave $20 towards Crow’s guitar lessons, some sent $50, and some sent over $100.

After consulting certified public accounts to conduct an audit for all the money, the fund totaled to $19,116.76.

In his letter to Reddit, Kruse said he felt it was unacceptable to profit off of Crow’s grief by converting the money into store credit. However, he still wanted to honor the money sent to the store on Crow’s behalf.

The music store owner said that he put the family in touch with a good lawyer so that they could get proper legal advice for the money from the fund.

After talking to attorneys and a few certified public accounts, the family decided to name a trustee and an accountant for the money, according to Kruse’s letter. In the event that the trustee determined that Crow needed new equipment, attire, or college education, then the decision to use the fund for those purposes would be up to the trustee.

Kruse sent the money to Crow’s family and said that his store would no longer be accepting money on Crow’s behalf, but should the family want to set up a platform for further donations, he would communicate the information.

Port Huron Music Center 发布于 2017年6月15日周四

In addition to the generous offers, some Reddit users also shared their own personal stories about their parents or grandparents passing away.

Crow’s cousin-in-law also commented on the Reddit thread, and wrote about how wonderful Crow’s father was.

“If you knew his dad you would understand how prepared he was for everything. It really was a surprise for Johnny’s birthday and he couldn’t believe that his dad (who had passed from an unexpected heart attack about two months before) had one last surprise for him on his birthday,” he wrote.

Crow’s cousin-in-law wrote that Crow is a fan of Alice Cooper, and that he had gotten Crow tickets to see the band, and that a meet and greet with the band would send Crow “over the moon.” He had been on his way to deliver the tickets to Crow in the most recent update to his comment in the subthread.

Nita Strauss from Alice Cooper also commented on the Reddit thread and offered backstage tickets for Crow and his family.

“I watched this video a bunch of times earlier today before I even knew he was coming to a show, and sent it to a bunch of guitar player friends … such an amazing moment!! Can’t wait to meet John and the family!!”

Crow’s cousin-in-law thanked Kruse for being in close contact with Crow and his family, as well as to the users on Reddit for being so generous to Crow during the rough time.

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