Mom who found heartwarming photos of late granddad on Google Street View 'virtually visits' him every year
ECCLES, ENGLAND: Thanks to Google Street View, a granddad has been immortalized after he was snapped standing outside his bungalow before his death. A mother named Michala Burrluck, who describes herself as a “Granddad's girl,” revealed that she coped with her granddad’s death by looking at his photos on Google Street View.
The granddad named Victor Austin died from Alzheimer's at the age of 84 in 2014 and the picture of him staring angrily at the car as it drove down his street dates back to 2009. Michala Burrluck was left shattered after her grandfather's death. According to The Daily Mail, Michala decided to take a trip down memory lane on Google Street View and look up his house. He lived just one street away for 30 years from where Michala grew up.
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The mother of two was more than happy when she spotted Victor in an all-brown ensemble. In the pictures, the old man can be seen with his hand on his waist staring into the site's van's camera lens. Michala said that he seemed unimpressed by the car's presence. Cars driving down the quiet lane were something that always annoyed Victor when he was alive.
Michala Burrluck also bumped into other images where Victor can be seen waving to someone and then gazing into the camera. Michala checks the Street View each July 30, the day she first noticed his pic. She revealed that she got a bit emotional after she made the discovery shortly after his death. According to the Daily Mail, she shared the tradition on Facebook on September 12 and it soon got an overwhelming response from social media users.
Speaking of the picture, Michala asserted, “I drive down the road on Google Street View a few times a year and it is really comforting, it's a bit emotional talking about it.” She continued, “I like it when you can see him in the background, then you get closer and closer and see him standing there. You think "ah grandad's still there, he's outside his bungalow". She further stated, “I was a real grandad's girl, we were always really close. He'd play practical jokes on us and he was quite the character, everybody knew him.”
Talking about discovering the picture on Google Street View, Michala said, “I first noticed him when I was looking at our house and then found his, and there he was.” She added, “We all had a laugh about it at the time. Every year it comes back up on my Facebook memories and I'll check if he's still there” concluding, “Sometimes when I'm just on Google Street View I'll just have a check too. It's nice to know there's part of the internet with him still on there.”
Victor lived with his wife Doris Austin at the bungalow until she died in 2001 aged 70. He then moved into a care home in 2012 as his Alzheimer's worsened. Michala's post read, “My grandad is still outside his house. He died about eight years ago and was in a home two years prior to this, but it is lovely to just virtually drive down his road and see him.”