SAN ANTONIO (Texas News Radio) — A Buda couple was given a wedding anniversary surprise last week by their favorite Whataburger.
“My dad has dementia and his favorite thing to do is eat dinner at Whataburger,” Dave Thurman stated in a phone interview.
They make the trip there every week. But, last week was different.
The manager, who the couple had befriended, said he would see the Thurmans again the following week, in keeping with their regular schedule.
“[My mother] explained that [my father] wanted to go there for their anniversary, so they would be back,” Thurman explained. “Well, David, the store manager said, ‘Oh, really? It’s your anniversary? How many years?’ And she said, ’48 years.’ And he said congratulations and asked what day.”
Thurman’s mother shared the details. David happened to be off the day of the couple’s anniversary.
“When they got there [the night of their anniversary], there was a table reserved for them with flowers and balloons and after they ate their meals, there was a cake there congratulating them,” Thurman explained. “He left instructions for his staff to go and get the cake that he had ordered, and to set up the table and take care of my parents while they were there.”
The family was stunned by the gesture.
“In today’s world, it’s a very uncommon story, unfortunately, for somebody to take their own time and their own effort to do something like that for somebody that — other than coming into their restaurant — they don’t know,” the son said. “The kindness and generosity that is spread through Texas companies never ceases to amaze me.”
Thurman wrote a lengthy thank you note to Whataburger, commending the actions the store manager took and how special it was to his family.
“My dad is not happy very often anymore,” Thurman wrote on Facebook to Whataburger, “so there are no words great enough to explain my gratitude for his gesture that made my parents day.”