After Losing His Wife, This Grandpa Sat Alone With Her Empty Chair at a Family Wedding

Pawpaw sat and ate with mawmaw today at my wedding 🥺 pic.twitter.com/GEXWMCfgXB

— Sahrah Elswick (@sahrahMichelle) July 7, 2019

While planning the details of her wedding, a woman from West Virginia named Sahrah Elswick decided to go above and beyond for her grandfather, Billy Gray, whose wife passed away in 2017 after the pair was married for 45 years. In order to make the day extra special for him, she and her husband, Zachery, set up a tribute to "Mawmaw," the grandparent they knew and loved.

Rather than sitting at his assigned table once dinner was served, Billy opted to eat in front of the memorial, which was set up on a white rocking chair. Sahrah captured the heart-wrenching moment and shared it on Twitter with the caption, "Pawpaw sat and ate with Mawmaw today at my wedding," and naturally, it went completely viral.

Along with some photos of her grandmother, Sahrah included a sign that read, "We know you would be here today if heaven wasn't so far away." While it was clearly a meaningful gesture for Billy, it proved to Sahrah how strong her grandparents' connection really is, despite the fact that she's gone.

"It meant everything to me to see this at my wedding," she told Today. "When I saw him sitting there, I immediately burst into tears, I was just so heartbroken and also in awe at how much he loved her. It was so important that she be a part of my day because we were very close, and I'm so glad I did it because now I see that it meant even more to him. They were rarely serious and stayed happy and made each other laugh. They stuck together through everything. They never really had much, but it didn't seem to matter at all to them."