B.C. widow seeking the good Samaritan who paid for her wedding reception 54 years ago

Karel Nordstrom's husband, Tom, died last month. They had been married for 54 years.

The Armstrong, British Columbia, woman is now attempting to track down — and thank — the stranger who paid for their Birmingham, England, wedding reception in 1958.

Karel told The Province that the simple, selfless act profoundly impacted their marriage.

"It really was the start of how we thought and think in this family," she said.

The couple met at the University of British Columbia in 1956. They were engaged two years later.

When an engineering fellowship took Tom overseas, Karel followed him. Instead of waiting another year for Tom to return to Canada for a wedding in British Columbia, the couple decided to wed in Birmingham.

The broke couple planned a simple, frugal wedding. Karel even made her white velvet gown. They wed on December 4, 1958, at the registry office, then headed to the Royal Sutton Coldfield Hotel where they dined on B.C. trout with six guests.

When they tried to pay for their reception dinner, restaurant staff told them the bill had already been paid. A gentleman dining alone at the hotel anonymously covered their meal.

"Though my parents tried to find out who their benefactor was, they never did. They didn’t even know what he looked like," the Nordstrom's daughter, Juli, 44, told the Birmingham Mail.

When the couple returned to Canada two years later, they were determined to give back.

"We felt that people had been so good to us, we wanted to return the favour," Karel said of their experience in England. She told The Province that Tom became very involved in every community where they lived. In 2001, after helping open an eye clinic, Tom was named Armstrong's Citizen of the Year.

This February, Tom was presented with the city’s Recognition of Excellence Award.

Tom and Karel told the story of the good Samaritan over and over to family and friends. Now Karel wants to track down the kind stranger to let him know the lasting impact of his gesture.

"For many years, we would wonder, 'Why would someone do that?' We would go through various scenarios...and there really isn’t an answer," Karel said. "We'd certainly like to thank them but also just to say how a small gesture can change a person’s life."

"I can't help but believe that the random act of kindness of an English gentleman impacted on the life of a 22-year-old Canadian student in such a way that it contributed to his development as the dedicated, generous man he became," Juli said, adding, "Each time he told the story, my father ended up with a tear in his eye."