Orphaned as a teen, Thomas Cain thought that no photographs of his mother had survived. Knowing how much the photos would mean to him, his granddaughter, 29-year-old Andrea Ferrell, started trying to track down the priceless pics. Finally, after a two-year search (and encountering lots of fakes), she'd found a distant relative who uncovered an antique photo of Cain's mother.
Barely able to contain her excitement, she decided it to give it to her grandfather, 82, during a family gathering, and captured his beautiful reaction to the surprise on video. As Cain opens the gift, he stares at the portrait.
"That's your mama," Andrea's mom, who is Cain's oldest daughter, is heard saying as he gives her a startled look. Then he sits back and covers his face with his hand as tears begin to stream down his face.
"I could not have asked for a better reaction. I love this man so much!" Ferrell added on her Facebook page. (The video, which was shot in 2013, is just now getting attention online.)
While we've seen plenty of priceless surprises, like this grandma getting an unexpected visitor, it's really awesome seeing how this woman's perseverance truly paid off. What Andrea did for her grandfather is beyond words.
Cain, who was born in Bladenboro, NC in 1931, lost both of his parents before he was 13. His father, Henry Cathey Cain, passed away when he was 9, and his mother, Ora Mae Blackmon, died of complications from pneumonia in 1943.
Ferrell's quest isn't quite over though. She is still trying to hunt down pictures of her great-grandfather, Henry.
Please SHARE this story to spread the word and help her track down these photos.
Orphaned as a teen, Thomas Cain was left without any images of his parents — until his granddaughter finally uncovered an antique photo.
"He loved it and was VERY surprised. Couldn't have asked for a better reaction!" Andrea Ferrell posted on Facebok. "Definitely worth two years' worth of research."
