Langley family asking public to send cards to celebrate grandfather’s 100th birthday

LANGLEY (NEWS 1130) — A Langley grandfather is turning 100 years old soon, but because of COVID, his wish to have a big birthday celebration won’t be able to come true. That’s why his family is doing what they can to ring in the special occasion with as much “cheer and joy and happiness.”

John Kromhoff’s 100th birthday is coming up next month, so in the meantime, his grandaughter, Jessica Kromhoff, is putting out a call on social media asking friends, family, and members of the public to send her grandpa as many birthday cards as he can get.

“I think as many as possible, would just make him happy … We’ve said, ‘we bet you’ll get 100 cards,’ and we think and hope that we’re even beyond that,” she says.


John has already received a few cards in the mail, something that’s made him very excited.

“It’s just brought him a little bit of joy during the day. He also is not expecting to get that many cards. He said, ‘Oh, that’s not going to happen,'” his granddaughter recalls.

“We’ve been trying to explain the reach of social media and people that we’ve asked. I think he’s expecting and he has already received some cards, but he’s not expecting to get as many as we think are on the way from what others have told us.”

Jessica adds no matter how many letters come through in the mail, she knows her grandfather is grateful.

Like many families during the pandemic, Jessica says her family has also experienced difficult times and has had to put in a lot of effort to connect with John, who lives in a retirement home.

“Usually we would try to get over there as often as possible, just to visit to bring his great-grandchildren to visit. So we’ve really missed out on that a lot this year. We do try to go visit and wave through the window and say hello, or … use FaceTime … to see the great-grandkids growing up over the past year. But it’s definitely been hard.”

Jessica describes her grandad as a hard worker who enjoyed his career in real estate for over 50 years.

“He would still be working if he could. So a lot of hard work and determination. And he has a great sense of humour and is just really kind and caring, and a great person and a huge part of our family’s life,” she tells NEWS 1130.

If you’d like to send a card John’s way to wish him a happy 100th birthday, Jessica says you can mail it to the retirement home where her grandfather lives: #252 8888 – 202 St. Langley, BC V1M 4A7.

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