man asking for friends
Julie Hambleton
Julie Hambleton
December 26, 2023 ·  2 min read

Man Puts Poster In Window Asking For Friends After Wife Dies

After the death of his wife, 75-year-old Tony Williams found himself very alone. Desperate for someone to talk to, he put up a poster asking for friends his window as a last-ditch effort. This is his story.

Unbearable Silence

Tony’s wife Joe, also 75 years old, passed away in May after a very brief battle with pancreatic cancer. The couple were unable to have any children and had just moved to a new town. With his best friend gone, Tony found himself very much alone. (1)

A retired physicist who spent years in the company of people during the day and his loving wife the rest of the time, he has now spent days in complete silence. One year prior they moved from Kempley, Gloucestershire in the UK to East Hampshire so Joe could be closer to her sister. It was then that she was diagnosed with cancer, and she passed away just nine days later. (1)

As Perfect as a Marriage Can Get

Tony describes his marriage to Joe as “perfect harmony”. Having met 35 years prior in a bar, the two were the perfect pair. (1)

“It was just incredible. It was like I’d known her all my life. She was just so lovely. Our relationship was always so natural. We had no secrets and we could be totally open with each other – we really were soul mates,” he describes. (1)

They spent nearly all of their spare time together: Cooking, cleaning, gardening, and listening to music together. They genuinely enjoyed just being in each other’s company. (1)

A Poster Asking for Friends

With no family or friends around him, Tony has felt the crushing weight of loneliness. Since Joe’s passing, he has spent £120 ($155) on two advertisements in the local paper looking for a friend to chat with and even made business cards to hand out while out walking or at the grocery store. So far, he has had no response. (1)

In a final effort to find a friend or two, he put up a sign in his window that reads this:

“I have lost Jo, my lovely wife and soul mate. I have no friends and nobody to talk to. I find the unremitting silence 24-hours-a-day unbearable torture. Can nobody help me?” (1)

All he wants is for someone to call him so he no longer has to sit in silence all day long. He insists he is not looking for someone to vent or cry to, he just wants someone to have a conversation with. (1)

“I just want a normal person who I can chat to… I can talk to anybody about anything. I spend most days just sat in the house in silence, just waiting for the phone to ring… but it never does.” he says. (1)

His neighbors have offered to help Tony, he is hoping to find someone closer to his own age who can actually be a friend to him, not just someone trying to take care of him. (1)

If you wish to help, share this article to spread the word and help Tony find a friend.

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