It was a typical Wednesday afternoon when Tyler Vanderslice, a technician based out of Comcast’s Plymouth Meeting office, was installing service for John Pavlick, a Comcast customer who had just moved into a new apartment complex.
While making small talk about football, John shared that he had been a coach for 40 years.
When Tyler learned that John coached in Upper Dublin, he quickly asked whether John knew his father, Jack Vanderslice, who played football for Upper Dublin High School.
“As soon as I told him my last name, Vanderslice, his eyes grew wide,” said Tyler. “We got to talking and I told him my dad passed away from cancer when he was 42 years old. I was only three years old.”
Tyler finished installing John’s new services but not before hearing a couple of stories about his father.
A few weeks later, Tyler received a call from John – he had done some digging and found photos of Tyler’s father that he wanted to share. That’s when Tyler received three pictures of his dad that no one in his family had seen before.
There was a picture of the team on their annual visit to Upper Dublin Kiwanis Club (Jack Vanderslice is pictured on the far right, next to John Pavlick). There was also a team photo with close family friends, and a starting offense for the year 1969 where Jack Vanderslice can be seen wearing the number 22 jersey (pictured below).
“I sent the pictures to my uncle, my father’s brother, and he couldn’t believe it,” said Tyler. “John knew my dad better than I did and for him to take a few minutes out of his day to talk to me about coaching my dad, what he was like, and to think of me weeks later and give me the pictures, was special.”
Jack Vanderslice worked in telecommunications, and Tyler grew up hearing stories about him and his work ethic.
“I know some of his friends that worked with him and it’s kind of crazy,” explained Tyler. “They have always told me when they look at me, they see my dad. They say I sound like him, talk like him, act like him, and work like him.”
A Comcast employee for 10 years, Tyler credits his father for bringing him to the industry.
“I have always felt my dad with me when I am working and when I was with John, I felt that presence even more and it made me choke up,” said Tyler.
“What are the chances that I get this job [at John’s house] and that we would talk about football,” said Tyler. “When you go through difficult times, things like this make you realize someone is watching over you and it keeps you going.”
After receiving a priceless gift – new memories of his father – Tyler seized an opportunity to show John just how much that act of kindness meant to him. During the holiday season, our Xfinity employees get a special chance to thank their customers with holiday surprises, and on December 13, Tyler was able to present John with a special token of his appreciation.
