Man takes wife's ashes to restaurant for Valentine's Day lunch

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It’s a heartbreaking photograph.

A man is seated at a table in a Texas restaurant, weeping into his napkin. It’s Valentine’s Day, and while at first glance he appears to be alone, an ornate bottle across from him is filled with the ashes of his late wife.

The photo, taken by Chasidy Gwaltney, has been shared more than 400,000 times on Facebook.

Gwaltney was eating lunch in a Corpus Christi restaurant when she saw the man in the restaurant booth, WVUE reported.

“I saw something today that has made me remember that we won't always have each other to hold, talk to, love, play with or even just aggravate every now and then,” Gwaltney said on Facebook. “This man looks like he is spending Valentine's Day alone at first glance but that is actually his wife in that very beautiful bottle sitting on the table.”

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The man is sitting at the table, which is set up for two people, with two plates, two silverware services and two glasses.

“You know? We are all guilty of taking our other half for granted from time to time,” Gwaltney wrote on Facebook. “We may forget to give a goodbye kiss, say I love you or just be so caught up in what we are doing at the moment that we don't notice the very little things that mean so much to our special someone.”

Cox Media Group