A Valley man, who always reminisced about his favorite classic car, was given a ride to remember in a 1956 Nash Ambassador. Patrick McKay's family posted about it on social media and a local car company stepped in to make it happen.
"When he got married, that was his car," said Colleen Kernaghan, Patrick's daughter. "His first two daughters, that was his car. It was the beginning of the rest of his life and it just held a special place in his heart. He always talked about it."
Six decades ago, Patrick sold his car for $75 and always regretted it.
As his health problems worsened, his family wanted to give him one last ride.
So his daughter posted a picture on social media and ClassicCars.com reached out.
"We knew that we had to make this happen very, very quickly, and we made it all happen in about a week," said ClassicCars.com CEO Roger Falcione.
The company found an identical car and brought it from San Diego to Patrick's home in the valley.
"He saw the car, and he said, 'Oh my God,'" said Ann McKay, Patrick's wife. "He must have said it about six times. He couldn't believe it because he no idea what was going on."
The 86-year-old hopped right in and started telling stories about his own car.
"He was so happy," said Ann McKay. "So happy. It brought back so many memories."
One week after his ride Patrick passed away.
But his family was able to fulfill his wish.
"It just did my heart good," said Ann McKay. "It did my heart good to think that he was able to make it."
"This wish, I thought it was going to be a gift for him," said Colleen Kernaghan. "And it ended up being a gift for myself and my family."
