By T. Scott Boatright
Going viral might be a frightening term for some around Lincoln Parish right now.
Along with the Covid bug, flu bug and RSV bugs, some parish residents have been bitten by the love bug, too.
And there’s no better holiday gift than that.
Ruston’s John Roy Hennigan received such a gift recently, learning that his stepgrandson — John Witt Benton — had been named after him.
The video of Hennigan meeting his grandson/namesake put together by the baby’s mother — Chloe Benton — had drawn 12.3 million hits on TikTok as of Monday afternoon, thanks in large part to it also airing on Good Morning America.
Benton said the importance of family ties made the decision about her son’s name an obvious choice.
“When my daughter was born last year, we named her (Hattie Anne) after my grandmother and my husband’s grandmother,” Benton said. “I’m a sentimental and traditional person, and I like names that have meaning even if they might seem normal to other people, so my husband Joel and I wanted our son to have a name of someone in our lives that held a respectful place because they were special. So that’s how it came to be.”
When Hennigan, who goes by his middle name of Roy, first met his namesake, he had no idea of the significance of the occasion until he started noticing a few changes from the people in the room surrounding him.
“All of a sudden there were two cameras out —- but Chloe and her husband Joel were making videos, but I was just focused on this miracle of a baby in front of me. I was just happy being in the moment,” Hennigan said.
But Hennigan still didn’t realize the significance of the occasion without a little prodding.
“My daughter told me to look at the hat (that the baby was wearing),” Hennigan said. “Chloe had worked so hard at putting John Witt’s room together, but when I saw it I didn’t realize that she had to hide signs with his name on them in the room when I saw it. She said she had taken them down to sanitize them as her excuse (to keep them hidden from Hennigan) and I had no idea. I’m sure she put them back up after I was gone.”
But when Chloe pointed out the name on the baby hat her son was wearing when he first met his grandfather, Hennigan knew then that his life had been changed forever.
“I should have realized, but I was holding and looking at this sweet little baby,” Hennigan said. “Then Chloe said, ‘Look at the hat! Look at the hat.’ I looked at it … and I didn’t want to assume stuff … so it took a moment to realize that they had named him after me. I was already emotional and in the moment, but then they threw that on top of me.”
Becoming Benton’s stepfather when she was 11 was the first big step in building the relationship between Hennigan and his stepdaughter, but Hennigan said he made sure not to rush things as they built their relationship.
“I was guarded with Chloe when her mom and I got married after Chloe had lived in a single-mom situation for so long,” Hennigan said. “And slowly but surely that bond grew. So for her to honor me in this way — I really don’t know if I have the words to express my feelings, other than just saying I’m very proud.”
Benton said it was Hennigan’s patience that helped their relationship grow and strengthen over the years.
“It took a few years, but he never tried to force a relationship — over that period of time he just kind of let things happen,” Benton said. “He stepped up and filled the role and never asked for anything in return, which gives me even more respect for him, because he did it because it was his natural instinct — it was just who he is.”
Benton, who has found success with her TikTok posts, said the now viral video was simply all and only about the moment.
“I’m sentimental and want my children to be able to look back on these memories,” she said. “And I knew there would be emotion behind Roy’s reaction. So I wanted to have that — for me, for him and for the kids. I want this to be a memory to last forever.”
