Small Act of Kindness by Former Gleason Resident Results in Millions for the Needy

The story of a Missouri man, who has given away millions of dollars to the needy and became nationally known as Secret Santa for 25 years, has ties to the local area.

The man who has spread cheer for 26 years is Larry Stewart, 58, of Lee’s Summit, who made his millions in cable television and long-distance telephone service.

But the reason for the revelation is an unhappy one. Secret Santa has cancer. He wants to start speaking to community groups about his belief in random acts of kindness, but he can’t do that without telling people who he is.

Stewart told The Kansas City Star that he was the man who would walk up to complete strangers, hand them $100 bills, wish them “Merry Christmas” and walk away, leaving astonished and grateful people in his wake. He handed out money throughout the year, but he said it was the Christmas giving that gave him the most joy.

Stewart grew up in Bruce, Mississippi, reared by his elderly grandparents, who survived on $33 a month and welfare staples. They heated water on the stove for baths and used an outhouse.

After he left home and college, he found himself out of work in 1971. After sleeping in his car for eight nights and not eating for two days, Stewart went to the Dixie Diner in Houston, Mississippi and ordered breakfast. When the bill came, he acted as if he’d lost his wallet.

The diner owner, Ted Horn (formerly of Gleason) came to him. “You must have dropped this,” the owner said, slipping a $20 bill into the young man’s hand.  The young man paid his bill, pushed his car to the gas station, and left town. But he vowed to remember the stranger’s generosity, and help others when he could.

He later married and started his own company with money from his father-in-law. But the company failed in 1977 and he couldn’t pay the bills. It was a very low point in his life. He got into his car with a handgun and thought about robbing a store. But he stopped and went home – and got a call from his brother-in-law, offering him money to tide him over.

After being fired from two jobs on two successive Christmases, Stewart stopped at a drive-in. Although he had little money himself, Stewart gave a cold and miserable carhop the change from a $20, much to her delight. That’s when Stewart’s mission to secretly give away money at the holidays began.

Eventually Stewart became a success and started Network Communications in 2002. The firm used independent sales agents to enroll customers for Sprint long-distance service.

According to an article in The Kansas City Star, in 1996, an arbitration panel ordered Sprint to pay Network and its sales agents $60.9 million in commissions it owed. Stewart got $5.2 million. The poor boy from Mississippi now had a family, lived in a nice house and drove nice cars.

So, he started giving away more money, to dozens of causes. And, all along, he gave away money to needy strangers. But Christmas was special. He would distribute thousands of dollars during visits to coin laundries, thrift stores, barber-shops and diners. People shouted with joy, cried, praised the Lord, and thanked Stewart repeatedly. But Secret Santa moved on quickly to avoid attention.

In 2001, after the terrorist at-tacks, he went to New York. A New York policeman who accompanied him said he’s never forget the experience. In 2002, Secret Santa was in Washington, D.C. to assist victims of the serial snipers. In 2003, it was a San Diego neighborhood devastated by wildfires. And in 2004, he was in Florida helping thousands left homeless by three hurricanes. Last Christmas, Secret Santa went back to Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast.

In 1999, remembering the generosity of the diner owner, he returned to Houston, Mississippi to visit Ted Horn. He gave Ted an envelope containing $10,000, which he said was the worth of the $20 these days. He once gave Ted $1000 and stamped the bills with the name “Ted Horn,” to distribute so he’d have the great feeling of helping the needy. Horn added money from his own bank account to give away, too.

He returns to visit Ted every year at Christmas and tells where he’ll be giving money that year, explains Ted’s sister, Joyce Wray of Gleason. He has given $1.3 million over the years.

Over the years, Stewart’s giving as Secret Santa grew. He started a Web site. He allowed the news media to tag along, mostly because he wanted to hear about the people who received the money. Reporters had to agree to guard his identity and not name his company, which he still does not want revealed. Ted didn’t know the man’s name or business until this year when he announced it in newspapers and on national television.

Stewart’s entourage grew over the years, and he began traveling with special elves. People like the late Negro Leagues icon Buck O’ Neil, who handed out hugs while Stewart doled out $100s. NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus, former lineman for the Chicago Bears, will join Stewart this year in Chicago when Stewart hands out $100s in honor of O’ Neil, the first African-American coach in the Major Leagues.

They’ll give out $100,000 between Chicago and Kansas City. Four Secret Santas who Stewart “trained” will hand out an additional $65,000. But this will likely be the last Christmas for Stewart’s tradition. In April, doctors told Stewart he has cancer of the esophagus. It has spread to his liver. He has been in a clinical trail at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Doctors tell him the tumors have shrunk, but they can’t say whether the cancer is in remission.

The treatment costs more than $16,000 a month, not including the cost of traveling to Houston every two weeks and staying there for five or six days. He now has two months off, but returns to treatment in February.

Ted and his daughter, Sandra Cox, attended a surprise “welcome home” party at the TV station in Kansas City given in Larry’s honor when he returned home following cancer treatment in Texas. “A lot of his friends from the fire department, the sheriff, and a lot of people from Kansas City that he had helped over the years were there. They had Daddy sitting on a stage by a Christmas tree,” said Sandra.

“He was hidden from Secret Santa’s view by all of these people when he came into the room. After he exclaimed over all the people there, the crowd parted and then he saw Daddy. He said “Oh, Ted! I can’t believe you are here.” They hugged each other and both cried like babies, as did everyone else in the room.”

“It was a wonderful experience. Daddy had always said that Secret Santa’s visits were the highlights of his life and meant so much to him,” said Sandra.

The prayers of many are with him for his healing and for his wonderful generosity which started from a single act of kindness 26 years ago.

Ted Horn grew up in Gleason and was married to Rubye Edwards Horn, formerly of McKenzie, who is now deceased. Source. McKenzie Banner

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