SYDNEY, N.S. — A delighted Nova Scotia widower has received nearly a thousand letters from around the world, days after his daughter invited people to send him cards as he approached his first birthday without his late, beloved wife.
"I don't believe it. Oh my Lord," laughed Gerard Dunn, as his daughter Miriam emptied stacks of cards and letters onto the couch of his Sydney home.
"I really don't know what to say, other than I'm amazed and I'm so thankful. From around the world! I can say it. It sounds like you're exaggerating like the devil, but you're not."
Dunn had saved the cards he received from his wife, Ellen, for the many birthdays, holidays and anniversaries they shared over more than six decades of marriage.
With his first birthday since Ellen's death coming up this month, his daughter decided to get the former post office worker an extra special gift by inviting Twitter users to mail him their well wishes.
"I really just thought it would be a nice gesture for dad to receive a few pieces of mail, even it were from strangers," she said.
The request was shared more than 20,000 times. In just a few days, he's received nearly 1,000 letters and cards.
Dunn says she thinks her father's story has resonated because people fear he might be lonely, but he sees it as a fitting tribute to the wife he still cherishes.
As his Oct. 16 birthday approaches — he is in his early 90s — he's answering the door multiple times a day to accept deliveries of mail.
Dunn was a remarkable man before any of this happened. The father of seven, ever full of energy and wit, did not even let a recently broken arm prevent him from treating guests to some inspired piano playing.
He is able to read the avalanche of mail himself, without the use of eyeglasses. With each passing day, wishes are flowing in from an ever-widening circle of strangers.
"So, happy birthday to you from the south of France. Love, Susan Bernard and Eros, my dog," Dunn reads from one letter.
For a man who lives alone — with frequent contact from his children — cards and letters were always a highlight of his day.
Now, they are large bundles of joy that reaffirm his faith in humanity.
"This is something special going on in the world, and these people are all involved in it. They wanted to get in on it," he said.
Dunn is determined to read every single piece of mail. That's not easy. It took a team of three family members four hours just to go through one day's delivery. And the stacks are only getting bigger.
"There doesn't seem to be any end. Don't ask me what I expect for tomorrow, because I don't know. I'm mesmerized."
