Taunton man’s late father leaves him $10 to buy first beer on 21st birthday

TAUNTON, Mass. — Matt Goodman hit a major milestone Sunday when he turned 21. The night before, his family had a small, emotional celebration.

“It was awesome, it was the best present I could ask for,” Goodman said.

That present came from his late father, John, who died of cancer in 2015 when Matt was 15-years-old.

“I know the hardest thing for my dad was the things he was going to miss out on. Anyone who knew my dad knew he was this goofy, larger than life of the party guy, and my little brother was his entire world,” said Matt’s sister, Casey Goodman.

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Just before he passed, John Goodman gave Casey the $10 bill. Casey then gave it to her mother.

“We put it in an envelope that night and put it in a safe and put it in her closet for the last six years now,” Casey said.

On Sunday, John Goodman’s wish came true. That $10 bill was used to buy Matt his first beer: a Bud Light, John’s favorite.

“It was pretty awesome, actually. It felt like he was with me through that whole thing. It felt like he was with me actually drinking a beer with me,” Matt said.

The Taunton man tweeted about the special moment. He wrote: “cheers pop havin this one for you.” The tweet has gone viral with more than half-a-million people liking the post so far.

“It’s kind of crazy. I never expected it to blow up like this. I mean it started and then just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger,” Matt said.

It’s gotten so big, even the King of Beers tweeted: “we’re raising one to your pops, Matt. He got your first beer and the next one’s on us.”

Budweiser wasn’t done. They sent Matt eight 30-packs of beer.

“Ten dollars turned into 240 beers from Budweiser and now it can turn into however much money from donations. It’s crazy how much one little thing can lead to a way bigger thing,” he said.

Matt has been flooded with people from all over the world asking for his Venmo number to buy him a beer. He says he’d rather have that money donated to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute since they were so wonderful treating his father. If you would like to donate, here is a link.

Cox Media Group