“Napkin Notes” Dad with Cancer Writes 826 Notes for Daughter – Enough for One Per Day through High School

Garth Callaghan, a father with Cancer, was the focus of a report on the Today show for something he is doing for those he may leave behind. A Dad with cancer, Callaghan is nearly finished writing 826 notes to his daughter, which she will have to read from him each day after he is gone.

According to Garth, he has been placing a handwritten “napkin note” into his daughter Emma’s the lunchbox since she was in kindergarten. Now 14-years-old, Emma’s father told Today that, his “daughter has come to depend on those brief missives as a daily source of inspiration — and a reminder to never take her dad for granted.”

Read one of Garth Callaghan’s notes to daughter Emma below



A 44 year-old father, Callaghan’s blood work is not currently showing any signs of kidney cancer with which he has battled twice with in recent years. Callaghan however currently lives with slow-growing prostate cancer.

According to Callaghan, his oncologist has bluntly told him that people with his medical history only have an eight percent change of surviving the next five years.

Explaining why he is writing the notes in advance, Garth said, “This is really about leaving a legacy so that she can understand some of my life philosophies and how much I love her.”

Nearly finished with his goal of 826 letters, enough for Emma to have one for each school day until she graduates from High School, Callaghan has only about 40 notes left to write.

Callaghan said that all of the completed notes are in a cabinet in his home office. Garth still writes a new note for is daughter Emma each day and is saving all of the pre-written notes for her until after he is gone, in what he calls the “just in case” pile.

You can read more about this story online at Today.com.