Man serenades his 98-year-old grandma with 'Unforgettable' on her birthday
— -- Grab the tissues. This video of a man serenading his 98-year-old grandmother with the song "Unforgettable" on her birthday is a tearjerker.
Ash Ruiz, a singer/songwriter and a life coach living in Boulder, Colorado, and former member of the band Menudo, posted the video to his Facebook page on Aug. 2, his grandmother's 98th birthday.
"When I was 8 years old she [his grandmother Gina Rosa Offord DiSanto Evangelista Ciasco] taught me how to sing 'Unforgettable' by Nat King Cole because it was her favorite song and I was to sing it with her for her birthday every year," Ruiz said. "Hence a tradition began and throughout the years we would sing 'My Funny Valentine' on Valentine's Day, 'White Christmas' during the holidays and of course 'Unforgettable' on her birthday."
At the start of the video, Grandma Jean, as Ruiz calls her, asked him for more signing. "I had just sang 'Sorento' for her," he told ABC News.
"I have the most precious memories of my Grandma Jean doing everything with a song. It didn't matter if she was doing laundry or making lasagna, she was always singing and her voice was rich, velvety and beautiful," he said.
Grandma Jean lost her singing voice in her late 80s, he said. But ever since he was a little boy, the tradition of "Unforgettable" was kept, whether by phone or by Skype.
"This year was different though, this year she would be turning 98 and I was going to do everything I can to surprise her and that's what was captured on this video, me surprising my 98-year-old grandmother with her favorite song," he said. He traveled to visit her in Florida.
"When I rewatch it I have no idea how I held it together for so long, I did lose it at the end of the song and what you don't see is the sweet tears and 'I love yous' that followed."
Ruiz, who still performs with Menudo on reunion tours, said he hopes the video inspires people to "hold their loved ones a little bit closer and longer, especially when their years are closer to their first and last breath."
