Mum Begins 'Pay It Forward' Campaign After Kind Stranger Who Paid For Her Shopping Dies In Car Accident

Mum Vows To 'Pay It Forward' After Death Of Kind Stranger Who Paid For Her Shopping

A mum is honouring a stranger who paid for her entire food shop after finding out he died less than 24 hours later.

Jamie-Lynne Knighten, a Canadian mum-of-two, briefly met Matthew Jackson on 10 November and took his name and place of work so she could bring a gift to say thank you.

When she called up his work, she found out he had been killed in a car accident.

"I still cannot believe it. I thought for sure I would get the chance to see him again, give him a hug and thank him at least once more in person," Knighten wrote in the heartfelt Facebook post.

"Now I won't get that chance, but more importantly no one else will get the chance to meet him. And that breaks my heart."

Most nights I don't sleep because I have a 5 month old and a 2 1/2 year old.. If one is sleeping, the other is usually...

Posted by Jamie-Lynne Knighten on Friday, 20 November 2015

The mum-of-two explained her brief encounter with Matthew Jackson in A Facebook post.

Knighten said she went to get food from the supermarket with her five-month-old son Wyatt. Her partner Josh stayed at home because he was snowed under with work deadlines.

"It was by far the most stressful shopping experience because [Wyatt] was also out of his routine and fighting sleep," she wrote.

"Fast forward to check out at approx 9.45pm. I go to pay with Wyatt crying in my arms and realise that I had left my debit card on the kitchen counter.

"So I scramble and find my Canadian credit card. Swipe, decline, swipe, decline."

Knighten said she realised the bank account had put an anti-fraud hold on her card because they had been travelling and she had forgot to notify them.

To make matters worse, her phone died so she couldn't call Josh.

"A gentleman behind me quietly says 'May I?'," she continued.

"I'm overwhelmed and didn't think I heard him correctly so he repeats 'May I? May I take care of your groceries?'

"I stutter and say 'Oh, thank you how sweet, but no thank you, you don't have to do that'.

"So he calmly repeats himself again. This time I look at him and he says 'I would be glad to take care of your groceries as long as you promise to do it for someone else' and I came to realise how much it would mean to him if I humbly accepted. So I did."

The man was Matthew Jackson, and Knighten said he paid over $200 (£132). She said she then thanked him through her tears, asked his name and where he worked, and then had to leave.

Matthew Jackson

"This past week has been a whirlwind with family so yesterday while the babies were asleep I finally had the chance to call his boss," Knighten continued.

"I wanted to let him know how incredible of an employee he has and to find out if I could get his last name to send him a thank you card and small gift.

"I hear crying on the other end of the line and my heart sinks. I just knew something was wrong. His boss quietly informs me that this incredible human being was in a tragic car accident the very next night and passed away.

"Not even 24 hours after meeting him. Gone. Just like that. How? Why? I don't understand."

Knighten found out Jackson was a year younger than her, engaged to be married, and was an "amazing young man" at work.

"May you rest in peace Matthew," she wrote. "My thoughts and prayers are with your family. I truly hope they know how well they raised you and what impact you've had on this world.

"Live every day to it's fullest. Do kind things for people. Love with every fiber of your being. Help whenever help is needed. Restore others' faith in humanity during this very difficult time in the world."

Since sharing the post on 20 November, Jackson's mother LeeAnn Krymow got in touch with Knighten and said that such kindness is what defined her son.

She wrote: "I knew my boy was like this. He loved to be kind. He was just a really special kid. So cute, so intelligent, so talented, an accomplished musician.

"You wonder why these things happen.

"There has got to be some good to come of this. He would be happy to know that other people are learning from his example."

Knighten has since set up a Facebook page for Jackson named 'Matthew's legacy'.

The group already has nearly 8,000 followers and has comments from people showing how they have paid it forward with their acts of kindness in honour of Matthew.

The description of the page reads: "This amazing human always put others first, please do something extraordinary for a stranger to honour #MatthewsLegacy and help restore faith in humanity."

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