Wareham Family’s Loud Dinner Turns Into Emotional Act of Kindness

A Wareham family got a sad but beautiful reminder of the value of life when they all gathered together to celebrate a birthday at a Carver restaurant.

Lindsey Verhaegen was out with her family at Mamma Mia’s in Carver to celebrate her mother Linda Oliver-Chiappini’s birthday. That’s when she had an experience that she said got her “right in the heart” and left her “an emotional mess.”

It started off rather The family rolled into the restaurant with 13 people in their party, and Verhaegan admitted that they “weren’t the most quiet people” while gathered together.

“We were seated right next to an elderly couple, and at one point, we thought they were annoyed by us,” she said. “We were pretty loud.”

Birthday Twins

Verhaegan said that as the family sang “Happy Birthday,” the older lady at the table next to them clapped and smiled and told them it was her husband Tony’s birthday, too.

“So my mom grabbed a cupcake, put a candle in it, and we lit it. We all sang to Tony,” she said. “We shared the cake with the wife, and they were both so thankful.”

Oliver-Chiappini then told her birthday buddy Tony that “we will meet here next year.”

“I don’t think I will make it,” he told her.

Verhaegan said that at first, she didn’t think anything of Tony’s ominous comment.

A Family Member Treated Tony for What Might Be His Final Birthday

One of Verhaegan’s family members decided to do a nice thing for the elderly couple by paying for their meal, including the tip. When the waitress informed the couple of what he had done, Tony broke down in tears. Verhaegan’s family wondered if they had done something wrong.

“As they were leaving, the woman grabbed my mom and pulled her close and said, ‘This means more to us than you know. My husband was just diagnosed with cancer,’ and explained that he was not doing well,” Verhaegan said.

READ MORE: These Fairhaven Fake Cows Keep Cancer Patients Company

“It’s crazy that we thought they were annoyed by us, and the whole time, they were happy to watch us celebrate my mother,” she said. “This goes to show that you never know what people are going through and always try to be kind.”

Tony Remains in the Family’s Thoughts

Oliver-Chiappini said she’s been thinking about Tony and his cancer battle ever since.

“I went to bed thinking of Tony and my first thoughts this morning at 5 a.m. as I made my coffee were about Tony and his wife,” she said. “God bless (them).”

Verhaegan said Friday morning that she regrets not getting the couple’s contact information, and she hopes someone can reach out and put them in touch so they can send him some gifts (feel free to email tim@wbsm.com and we’ll get you connected).

“I'm still in tears thinking about this. I was so happy to hear that Tony is having a big party this weekend, surrounded by family,” Verhaegan said. “Life is so short and there is still plenty of beauty in people. I still have faith in humans. Tony was so darn cute.”