- A family befriended their widowed neighbor Paul Callahan and later adopted him as their honorary grandpa
- They met in March 2022 when Callahan offered them a ladder and tools
- Callahan has also connected with the Caraballo’s children, who call him Uncle Paul
A family in Rhode Island has shown kindness and compassion to their elderly neighbor, who lost his wife six months before they moved in.
The Caraballo family has welcomed Paul Callahan, 82, into their lives and treated him as their “honorary grandpa”.
Source: UGC
Meeting for the first time
According to NY Post, the Caraballos met Callahan in March 2022, when he offered them a ladder to do some housework.
Since then, they have become close friends and spend almost every day and holidays together.
“He was coming over with tools. He’d bring screwdrivers and teach Wilson how to fix up the garage, and Wilson followed all his advice,” Sharaine Caraballo, 32, told South West News Service.
Sharaine, a case manager for domestic violence survivors, said she was initially worried about meeting their neighbors, but Callahan made them feel welcome.
“When Paul welcomed us into the neighborhood I knew I had made the right choice.”
Callahan, a retired Texas Instruments manager, has also bonded with the Caraballo’s children, who call him Uncle Paul. He often brings them “little trinkets” and tells them stories.
Sharaine said:
“They play with him a lot and call him Uncle Paul. He’s got stories for days. I asked what drew him to us, and he said he was a very social person and that he grew up around lots of kids.”
The family recently gave Callahan a new outfit on Father’s Day, as a gesture of appreciation and love.
The story of the Caraballos and Callahan is a heartwarming example of how a simple act of kindness can make a big difference in someone’s life.
