ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Cailin, left, Amy, middle and Samantha Donovan sit with the two pillows made by a stranger — simply known as Grandma Santa — with cloth from her late mother.
By GAYLA CAWLEY
SAUGUS — Christmas came early for Saugus mother Amy Donovan this week, when she received a final gift from her late mother through the kindness of a stranger, who identified herself only as Grandma Santa.
Owen O'RourkeAmy Donovan talks about the pillows that were sewn by a stranger with squares made by her late mother.
Donovan, 40, was surprised on Wednesday night when her father, David Thompson, told her that two pillows and a card written to her had been dropped off at his Lynn home. The pillows were made of squares that Donovan’s mother, Linda Thompson, had made on a loom before she died of lung cancer in 2014, but never had a chance to sew together.
The card was signed only as Grandma Santa. The woman wrote that her intention was that the gift would be for Donovan’s two young children, as a last gift from their grandmother. Donovan said on Thursday that she was very close to her mother and became emotional when talking about the anonymous gesture.
“I cried pretty much all last night,” Donovan said Thursday. “The kids won’t appreciate it now, but they will when they get older. I was taken aback. It’s unbelieveable that this woman would think of doing that.”
Donovan said one of the pillows was made of loom squares that were left over from a baby blanket her mother had made for her oldest daughter, Cailin, 5. The other pillow was made of squares her mother was going to make into a baby blanket for her other daughter, Samantha, 3, but never got to.
She’s not sure who the woman is. Donovan said her father remembers the woman as being very nice, but couldn’t tell her who it was. The woman heard her father was getting rid of items at his house through word of mouth and learned the story behind the squares, she added.
“I recently bought some products from your dad,” Grandma Santa wrote to Donovan. “He said they belonged to your late mother. I found several loom squares she had set aside as if to work on later, but did not finish. Your father said you have two babies. So, my thought was your mom was making for them. Well, I hope you don’t mind. I took the honor of making them into pillows for your babies. Every square was made by your mom so I just sewed them together. Sort of one last gift from their grandma.”
The gift was especially poignant for Donovan. She said her mother stated that her biggest regret was that she wouldn’t see her grandchildren grow up and that the girls wouldn’t remember her. Donovan said the pillows give the kids something to remember about their grandmother.
Donovan is hoping that she finds out who her secret Santa is one day.
“Thank you,” Donovan said she would tell Grandma Santa. “My kids thank you. In the future, they’ll appreciate it a lot more. It just brings back memories. She didn’t have to do that. It’s a very touching, selfless act to do … (I’d) just let her know that she probably didn’t think it would be a big deal, but it is for me anyway.”
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Gayla Cawley can be reached at gcawley@itemlive.com. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.