When Keith Davison found himself alone after 66 years of marriage, he couldn’t stand the silence of his home. “You can’t imagine how much this environment has changed,” the elderly man said. How to react to such sadness and try to overcome such a difficult situation? This 94-year-old retired judge decided to install a swimming pool in his backyard in Morris, Minnesota, so he could entertain all the children in his neighborhood.
Now he has so many visitors that his house will never be quiet again! Let’s take a closer look at his story and what he’s done.
Lonely after death of his wife, 94-yr-old Keith Davison just put in a backyard pool for the neighborhood kids. Next on KARE #land10kstories pic.twitter.com/OWU77mI1IB
— Boyd Huppert (@BoydHuppert) August 14, 2017
It was not easy to tolerate the calm in a house that, for 66 years, had been inhabited by his wife and three children, now adults. Former judge Kate Davison found herself without grandchildren and no one to keep her company:
In these moments, I think it is normal to be overcome by sadness. I cried a lot because she was no longer with me. But I couldn’t let it all get to me. A reaction was necessary. So I had this idea: a swimming pool for children and young people in the region.
And that’s how the idea quickly became a reality. The pool, which measures 4.9 meters by 9.8 meters, was installed within a few months and was ready to be opened by the kind old man in front of all the neighborhood children in July. Although he has three adult children, Davison has no grandchildren. However, a neighbor rightly told him: ” You adopted all the children in the neighborhood. They are your grandchildren.”
Being able to give happiness,” said the neighborhood grandfather, “that’s the best way for me to find it!” Isn’t it wonderful to see how children have fun? There is so much room here that many families who cannot travel on Sunday can come and picnic on our lawn.”
And Keith admitted that he loved these moments of sharing and relaxing together! “Of course,” he said, “some people might be suspicious of the idea of an old man building a swimming pool for children. But fortunately, my wife and I are well-known in the neighborhood and everyone understands that it is a gesture of pure sympathy