London police meet the children of man who wrote touching thank you letter

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - We have an update on the moving tribute that was made to the London Police Department.

Last month, we told you about a widower’s emotional letter sent to London police. In it, the man thanked the department for an officer’s act of kindness made during his and his new bride’s honeymoon more than 70 years ago.

The letter’s author received a response that prompted his children to go back and visit the town where a special family memory was made.

The story begins with Dan and Evonne Green, newlyweds from a small town in Indiana.

“Graduated high school in ‘49, got married in 1950 and headed to the Smoky Mountains for their honeymoon,” one of their daughters, Natalie Thompson said.

That trip brings the Greens back to Kentucky.

“We would come to the Smokies often, and Mom and Dad would say, ‘Oh this is where we stopped here or this is what we did here.’ We know that they borrowed my uncle’s car to come on their honeymoon,” she said.

Every year, they take a road trip down memory lane recalling the stories their parents told them.

“They must’ve parked in a wrong spot, and the London Police Department was so kind to put the little red card on their car just saying, ‘Hey, welcome to London, but here’s a few of our rules,’ and that touched my mother,” Thompson said.

Her mother would carry that card in every wallet she had. Evonne passed away two years ago.

“Mom was very healthy, she ended up passing from a heart attack...very hard on Dad,” Thompson said. “He had to kind of think of a new routine.”

Dan Green wrote to the police department after finding his wife’s treasured card. He received a handwritten response from Chief Darrel Kilburn, and asked his daughter to contact the chief. It resulted in a scheduled visit to the police station.

“Chief was very surprised that I had contacted him and that touched him,” Thompson said.

Though he couldn’t make the trip himself, Thompson said her 90-year-old father is doing well, encouraged by the act of kindness that keeps on giving.

“It’s a love story,” she said. “Someone said it should be a Hallmark movie.

Copyright 2021 WKYT. All rights reserved.