On their anniversary, parents overwhelmed by gift from late daughter: "I didn't know what to say"

KANSAS CITY, Missouri -- A Missouri couple got a big gift from their late daughter -- more than a year after she passed away.

Nikki Garcia used to treat her parents to dinner every year on their wedding anniversary -- December 15th.

She passed away in July 2014 after fighting cancer for three-and-a-half years.

"So this year I wanted to take my grandparents to Outback Steakhouse to remember her, since it`s the second year since her passing," said Chris Stathopoulos, Nikki’s only son.

Last year, the Garcias were too distraught to celebrate. It had only been a few months since Nikki's death.

"Our anniversary is her birthday, so it was very, very hard last year," added Eddie Garcia, Nikki's father.

Stathopoulos decided he would take them out for dinner this year, for their 36th anniversary.

"We got seated, and had a wonderful dinner, and the manager came out and brought us desert and told us the bill was taken care of. I thought Christopher did it, and he said it wasn't him, and the manager told us she understands we had a tragedy last year and from that point on my wife was crying, and everything just pretty much went over my head. We got home, and I called Jamie (Nikki's sister) to thank her, and she said 'that wasn't me. It was Nikki. She set it up for last year when she knew she wasn't going to be here with us,'" said Eddie Garcia.

Jamie, Nikki's sister is the only one who knew what Nikki had done. She had paid for their parents' dinner before she passed away.

Since the Garcias didn't go out to dinner for their wedding anniversary in 2014, after Nikki passed away, Jamie reminded folks at the restaurant of what Nikki had done.

"I was just overwhelmed. I didn't know what to say. I was kind of numb," Eddie Garcia said.

"That`s just like her. She`s written me cards for when I get married, for when I have my first child. She had my other aunt give me a gift card to go shopping when I got my new house," Stathopoulos, Nikki's son said.

"She was the most thoughtful person in the whole world. She was the glue that held our family together," Eddie Garcia said.

"It was just nice that my mom is still taking care of my grandmother and my grandfather even without her being here. It was just special for me, being her only child, knowing that I had such a great mom," Stathopoulos said.

Had cancer not robbed her of her life, Nikki would have been 44 years old this year.