After Parents Are Killed, Family Had To Auction Dads Classic Car. Spontaneous Beauty Followed
The driver of the car behind them said that Nicole had her arms wrapped around her husband with her face in his back and never saw it coming
[Oct 21, 2021: The Brighter Side of News]
Nicole had her arms wrapped around her husband, with her face in his back...and never saw it coming. (CREDIT: twitchy finger)
Nicole and Brent Keryluke of Red Deer, in the Province of Alberta, loved the crispness of the air that morning, and decided to go for a motorcycle drive in an area were the leaves on the trees were already red and yellowing.
They had to be back within two hours, because both of their two young children had medical appointments, as they both suffer from hearing impairments and one needs speech therapy.
As they were turning a curve, a truck coming from the other direction veered into their lane and hit them head on.
They were killed immediately.
The driver of the car behind them said that Nicole had her arms wrapped around her husband, with her face in his back...and never saw it coming. And that Brent, before the moment of impact, instinctively put his arm behind him to hold his wife.
Brent’s parents, Ben and Marilyn, now had guardianship of three-year-old Liam and six-year-old Arielle, and especially because of the additional costs of the medical bills, they had to sell Brent’s classic 1973 Pontiac Parisienne, which he restored himself and hoped would one day be Liam’s on his eighteenth birthday.
They didn’t want to, but had to.
Related Stories
And they took it to EG Auctions to sell.
Said EG Auction owner Lindsey Payne, “When Liam and his grandpa walked into the show office I knew that when I saw that little boy and his grandpa that we were going to do everything we could to help them out. Certainly waive any fee.”
And this happened...magic that could only activate from the deepest recesses of the heart...
In the middle of the auction, when their car was to be next, they brought the Keryluke family up on stage to tell the audience about the events that transpired that made the auction necessary, and the meaning behind it.
“They basically stopped the auction, let everybody know what was happening, where the money was going to go, and then we were shocked what happened after that,” said Ben.
First, Rod McWilliams from Red Deer Motors bought the car for $29,000...and immediately gave the car back to be auctioned again!
Then Danny Fayad, who had driven up from Edmonton, bought the car for $30,000….and immediately gave the car back to be auctioned again!
All the while, members of the community yelled out pledges to go over and beyond whatever it finally sold for.
One man yelled out, “2,000 over the price!”, another yelled out “$4,000 over”, and it happened again and again and again.
One woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, told a reporter that she came with $2,500 to see if she could “score a deal” on an older unrestored car that was coming up later in the auction, but pledged her money for the Keryluke family. “ I have two kids myself. I thought of them. What if? I have one car already.”
It was finally purchased for $20,000 to Bob Bevins from Bulldog Metals in the third and final round.
The reason he didn’t also give the car back to be sold again, was because after the auction was over, he went to the Keryluke family...and gave the car to them.
“Maybe someday that young man will drive his father’s car,” he said.
Said Lyndsay, “People were overwhelmed with just the generosity of people of central Alberta and the support that this family has. It was incredible. People were cheering, I was crying. Our auctioneer Rod had a hard time getting through it because he was crying. He was emotional.
When the last buyer stepped forward and said ‘I want your family to have that car, so I'm giving it back to you,’ the audience erupted.
When our auctioneer Rod announced that, the place just went wild. There was a standing ovation, people were cheering, whistling. It was wonderful."
Said Grandpa Ben, “The children are faring well. They greet each day with joy. They get up in the morning and both of them are smiling and laughing.
It’s been just incredible to see the generosity of people to help a family to be able to raise the children.
How do you thank people for something so huge?”
For more international good news stories check out our Global Good section at The Brighter Side of News.
Like these kind of feel good stories? Get the Brighter Side of News' newsletter.
Tags: #Global_Good_News, #Charity, #Helping_Hand, #Kindness, #Compassion, #Cars, #Auction, #The_Brighter_Side_of_News