Dad Dies Before Family Photos Could Be Taken—So Internet Steps In – ryan

A woman from Ohio turned to Reddit in a time of need—and the internet understood the assignment.

In 2022, Lillian Ramsey’s father passed away from pancreatic cancer just one month after being diagnosed. At the time, she was three months pregnant with her son.

“It was very unexpected… and we were all devastated. Not only was my dad my best friend, he was also extremely close with my fiancé as well,” the 23-year-old said. “He wanted nothing more than to be able to meet his grandson and watch us become parents.”

Randy Lee was the first person to know about his daughter’s pregnancy and he even revealed the gender to the family.

On the day he died, Ramsey and her fiancé were able to share the name they had chosen for their son: Rowan Lee.

“I could not have asked for a better father, he was simply the best out there. He raised me and did so much more for me than he ever had to. Grieving has been really hard for us, but I continue to remind myself that grief is only the result of great love,” Ramsey said.

In April 2023, when Ramsey had maternity photos taken at 35 weeks pregnant, she had the heartbreaking realization that she would never have a picture of her father with his grandson.

Then in September 2024, Ramsey was scrolling through Reddit and saw a post where someone had requested people be removed from a photo using Photoshop.

“I thought if someone could photoshop people out of a photo, surely someone could photoshop my dad into a photo,” she told Newsweek.

With low expectations, she posted her request on the subreddit r/PhotoshopRequest under the handle u/lilcbean. When she returned to check on it, she was overwhelmed.

At the time of writing, the post has received 3,700 upvotes and over 150 comments, with many Reddit users sharing their condolences for the grieving mom.

“I logged off, but when I eventually came back to the app and saw all the photos, I cried. I had a lot of great options, but one photo really stood out to me in particular,” she said.

The image, photoshopped by u/VTorquato, is something Ramsey is incredibly grateful for.

Ramsey continues to honor her father’s memory every day, talking to Rowan about his “Pappy in the sky” so he knows who he is.

“It makes me extremely emotional to look at, but it’s a reminder that, even if my dad isn’t here with us in person, he’s always with us in spirit, in our hearts,” Ramsey said.