A lonely pensioner who lost his wife to cancer this year has launched a heartbreaking appeal for a companion at his Christmas dinner table.
Fearful of spending his first festive period alone, Tony Williams, 75, has been placing cards around the town where he lives promising a ‘sumptuous feast, fine wines and good conversation’.
Mr William’s wife Jo died of pancreatic cancer in May of this year after the couple moved further south little over a year ago to be closer to her sister.
Mr Williams, who lives in Alton, Hants, has since struggled with loneliness and the loss of his ‘soulmate’, a retired legal secretary, who was also 75 and died just nine days after her diagnosis.
Since his wife of 36 years died he has launched several appeals for company, including one during lockdown which saw him receive thousands of calls and emails from people wanting to be his friend.
Tony Williams, 75, has been handing out cards in Alton, Hampshire, in search of some company over the festive period
The retired physicist lost his wife Jo to pancreatic cancer in May this year, just nine days after her diagnosis. Pictured: The pair enjoying a trip to Cornwall in 1991
On his search for companionship cards, he says the potential visitor will get a ‘sumptuous feast, fine wines and good conversation’
Fighting back tears, the retired physicist said: ‘She was the loveliest person I had ever met – she was everything. We were soulmates.
‘She died so quickly after we moved here from Gloucestershire, where we spent all of our married life.
‘It all happened so fast. She died in my arms in nine days.’
Mr Williams previously made an appeal in his local newspaper for people to talk to during lockdown which proved a roaring success, with his email box flooded with well wishers from across the globe.
He was even contacted by 80 year old TV personality Dame Esther Rantzen, who founded the charity Silverline – but is yet to find a friend in his local area.
Now, approaching his first Christmas alone, Mr Williams hopes to find someone to break bread with on December 25 – though he admits that turkey is not on the menu.
Retired legal secretary Jo died when she was 75 and the couple had been married for 36 years. The loved-up pair on holiday in Barbados in 1986
This isn’t Mr Williams first appeal for company, earlier this year he spoke told his local newspaper he was looking for people to talk to during lockdown
He added: ‘I can’t face being on my own at this time of year. I have had responses, but one was a vegetarian and another had no interests that I share.
‘I don’t want someone coming here and not speaking, watching me carve the turkey – although I don’t really like turkey.
‘I love cooking, and I’m a bit of a wine connoisseur, but what I decide to cook depends on who will join me.’
Though he has two brothers and a sister, none live nearby and, being vulnerable to the virus, the pensioner was reluctant to spend Christmas in the homes of siblings who would also be hosting their children and grandchildren.
‘The top priority is safety. My sister Tessa, who lives in Suffolk, said ‘you are coming here for Christmas’, but she has two grown up children and several grandchildren,’ he said.
His first appeal for some company was a roaring success and saw him receiving messages from well wishers from across the world
The 75 year old was even contacted by 80 year old TV personality Dame Esther Rantzen, who founded the charity Silverline
‘We both recognised that was a big restraint, and that’s when I came up with the plan to put the cards up.’
The cards Tony has placed on community display boards, lamp posts and telegraph poles around Alton read: ‘Alone at Christmas? Tony Williams will cook you a sumptuous feast with fine wines to the make the mood festive.
‘If you are cultured, lively, humorous and enjoy good conversation, ring me.’
A poll conducted in May by the charity Independent Age found that nearly 90 per cent of older people’s social contact had been significantly reduced throughout the pandemic.
Mr Williams (left) says he can’t face being alone during the festive season. He admits he has recieved a few responses ‘but one was a vegetarian and another had no interests that I share’. Pictured right: Tony and Jo on holiday in Cornwall in 2012
Tony has placed on community display boards, lamp posts and telegraph poles around Alton
Earlier this year Tony put a posted in his window asking for friends after Jo died and later put an appeal out in his local paper.
Describing the response to his first appeal, Mr Williams said: ‘At one point emails were coming in at a rate of four or five a minute – I just couldn’t handle it.
‘There were lots of people from America, Canada, New Zealand, some from Australia and even people calling from as far away as Namibia and Guatemala.
‘It has been absolutely amazing, but I would trade it all in to have my lovely Jo back by my side.
‘I have had a hard time, but nothing will defeat me. I’m a strong person.’
Tony Williams, 75, often goes for days without speaking to anyone after his wife Jo, also 75, passed away in May and put a sign in his window
Lonely Tony received so many emails they crashed his inbox and he has had 100s of phone calls from new friends around the world
Tony’s neighbours said they have offered to help him – but he wants a friend of his own age to pass the time
People across the globe got in touch, inviting him on road trips to the US or for an afternoon drinking G&Ts.
Others have offered Tony, a retired physicist lunches, phone calls and for their kids to adopt him as a grandfather.
Speaking at the time, he said: ‘People have sent me the most delightful emails. They’ve sent me pictures of their kids, their pets, told me about their aspirations and telling me they are thinking of me.
‘I got an email from a local teacher asking if children in her class could write me letters.
‘I got in touch with her straight away and said it would be delightful. I would love that.
Tony and Jo, who lived in Kempley, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire for 25, were unable to have children and he said he often sat at home willing the phone to ring – ‘but it never does’ – and he said he feels ‘cursed’ by loneliness.
Mr Williams met Jo, a legal secretary, in a bar more than 35 years ago, and their marriage was ‘perfect harmony’
He would often be sat at home willing the phone to ring – ‘but it never does’ – and he said he feels ‘cursed’ by loneliness. Pictured: Tony now receives calls from Canada and the United States
Tony’s neighbours said they have offered to help him – but he wants a friend of his own age to pass the time.
Without any family nearby, Tony put two adverts in his local newspaper looking for a friend to chat to, but didn’t get any replies.
In a bid to find a pal to listen to music with, or just chat in the garden, Tony had business cards made, to hand out when he went to the supermarket or out for a walk.
Speaking about his relationship with his wife, Mr Williams said: ‘We first met one night in a bar, and we got on so well.
‘It was just incredible. It was like I’d known her all my life. She was just so lovely.
The retired physicist, who lives in Alton, East Hampshire, has no children and said he often sits at home willing the phone to ring ‘but it never does’ – and he said he feels ‘cursed’ by loneliness
Tony Williams put up a poster in his window asking for friends after his beloved wife died and was inundated with thousands of emails and hundreds of phone calls from wellwishers all over the world
‘Our relationship was always so natural. We had no secrets and we could be totally open with each other – we really were soul mates.
‘Back in Kempley, we both used to get in every evening from work and cook together – with me doing one job and her another – then we’d put it together at the end.
‘Sometimes we’d spend hours cooking, laughing and listening to music together – it was the highlight of our day.
‘We also had a huge, beautiful garden with an orchard. In the summer months, I’d do the gardening and Jo would come and sit outside with me. Everything was just perfect.’
In the coming years Tony hopes to raise money for pancreatic cancer research, in a project he plans to call ‘Just for Jo’, after his beloved wife.