Publix honors Coweta Co. deputy who died of cancer with free donuts
COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - A woman's act of kindness following the death of a beloved member of the Coweta County Sheriff's Office is gaining a lot of attention on Facebook.
Lindsey Shea Allen, a Deputy Clerk at the Coweta County Courthouse, wanted to do something special for her coworkers after Deputy Sheriff David Wisniewski, 50, lost his battle with cancer last week.
"When he passed away, it was a different feeling in the courthouse," Allen told FOX 5. "All of the officers were extremely sad, as if their best friend wasn’t going to be at work anymore."
On the day of Wisniewski's memorial service, Allen called the Publix on Lower Fayetteville and put in a custom order for donuts. She said she knew it was going to be a rough day for all of the officers at the courthouse, who were about to say their final goodbye to a dear friend.
"I was just wanting to bring them breakfast," she said.
As Allen went to pay for the donuts, she was touched by what happened next.
"The man tells me 'they're on the house, send our condolences.'"
Allen said she offered to pay several times, but Publix wouldn't accept any money. The bakery created a custom order of blue-iced donuts and the sweet treats displayed "054" on them, which was Wisniewski's badge number.
"It was really unexpected and so nice, especially with everything that's going on right now with police," Allen told us. "It meant a lot that Publix would even do it."
Allen took a picture of her receipt which said "no charge" and shared the image on Publix's Facebook page. The post has been shared more than 1,000 times and has nearly 4,000 likes.
"Have to give a huge shout out to my local Publix," Allen said. "Thank you Publix for your kind donation to these wonderful men and women who serve our community."
A Publix employee named Chris responded to her post.
"Hi Lindsey, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. I hope those donuts were able to help brighten everyone's day. I'll make sure these kind words are passed along," he said.
Deputy Wisniewski served Coweta County for more than 16 years and is being remembered for his outgoing personality and joyful laugh. Allen told FOX 5 she only worked with him for eight months, but said he left a huge impression on her.
"He was always telling jokes," she said. "He never let on that he was sick. I didn’t know he was sick until he passed away. He worked all the time. He was the sweetest man, so much fun. Just a great person.”
An official with the Coweta County Sheriff's Office said Deputy Wisniewski was a great man who helped everyone he came across, and will be dearly missed. He leaves behind his wife of 12 years, five children and six grandchildren.