Woman misses grandpa for 23 years—a special discovery at grandma's home lets her hear his voice again

One might miss deceased loved ones a lot of times. They could also need some sense of reassurance in those moments. So when a woman found VHS tapes made by her late grandpa, she was glad to have a chance to hear his voice after 23 years. The creator, Andrea, was cleaning her grandma's house when she found those tapes. She was really glad to share those memories with her grandma, per a clip shared on the woman's TikTok account, where she goes by @andreabcallihan. The video received over 12,300 views.

"Just my mamaw (grandma) watching VHS tapes I found of my papaw (grandpa) who passed in 2002," the text overlay of the video read. "He was obsessed with videoing everything. I have never been more grateful for that. I haven't heard his voice in almost 23 years." The grandma was cuddled with a blanket on the couch as she watched a video of the grandpa on a fishing trip on TV. The man was holding onto a fish in the tape before he let it go. The caption read, "So thankful for these moments with her!" Andrea told Newsweek that her grandpa had passed away after suffering from a stroke in 2002. The granddaughter was only 8 years old at that time.

The grandpa died during Thanksgiving week, so it was very difficult for the family to cope with the loss. However, Andrea had fond memories of her grandpa, Tom. "He was just your typical Southern, small-town man! He loved his family, was an Army Veteran, loved the outdoors and loved to fish." So she was happy to relive some of those memories with her grandmother after she found the tapes while cleaning. "We were in the middle of helping my grandmother clean out her house and came across a few old VHS movies in a chest she had in her room and a couple more stashed behind items in a hutch in her kitchen. She mentioned that she thought some of them may be home videos."

The grandma also had a VCR, so they could watch the videos together. "The more the video played, the sweeter the memories got. It’s funny how you can forget what people's voices sound like, but the moment you hear it again, you’re like, 'Oh yeah! That’s exactly how I remember him.' It felt like I got a present from him, 20-plus years later," Andrea told the outlet. She added, "It was a refresh of who he was. It was also a reminder that my mom reflects a lot of his personality; so I got to see her in him, like I see him in her every day. Hearing him laugh will be etched into my mind forever." People appreciated the memory that the grandmother and granddaughter got to share in the comments section of the video.

@bbb10231 wrote, "Oh, the emotions she probably felt. Give her a big hug from a stranger for me, please." @jay68375 commented, "I have an old voicemail of my Pap saying my name. When that phone dies, his voice dies with it." @paigemckaig remarked, "I’ve got one or two videos that have every member of my mom’s side in it that has passed.. both grandparents, my mom, my 3 uncles… I cherish that video more." In another video, Andrea shared that she had found videos of her parents at the hospital when she and her twin brother were born among the VHS tapes.

You can follow Andrea (@andreabcallihan) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.

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