My family adopted our widowed neighbor as ‘honorary grandpa’ to our kids

An elderly, isolated man has become the “honorary grandpa” of a Rhode Island family as they now spend almost every day and holidays together in what’s truly a heartwarming good deed.

Sharaine Caraballo, 32, along with her husband Wilson, 42, first met Paul Callahan, 82, in March 2022 when they moved into Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Callahan’s wife had died six months before the Caraballos arrived — they only met when the widower offered Wilson a ladder to do housework.

“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 told South West News Service of the octogenarian, a retired Texas Instruments manager.

Soon enough, the three hit off and, as she put it, “He’s like an honorary grandpa to us.”

A Rhode Island family took in a senior whose wife recently died to be their "honorary grandpa." — A Rhode Island family took in a senior whose wife recently died to be their “honorary grandpa.”

A family took in an elderly man whose wife died as an "honorary grandpa." — The family took in an elderly widower as an “honorary grandpa.”

Meanwhile, the Caraballos were initially worried about meeting their neighbors, she said.

“When Paul welcomed us into the neighborhood I knew I had made the right choice.”

Now, Callahan comes by every other day and is often seen at family cookouts.

A family has taken in a neighbor as a grandpa-like figure. — Paul Callahan has turned into a grandpa-like figure.

The couple just gave him a new outfit on Father’s Day as well.

“My husband’s father is in the Dominican Republic, so even his mom says, ‘Here comes your dad, Paul!’” Sharaine, a case manager for domestic violence survivors, told SWNS.

Callahan has also made a deep connection with the Caraballo’s children and often brings them “little trinkets.”