Woman Surprises Elderly Neighbor with Visits, Ice Cream Runs (Exclusive)

• Julissa Gomez first met Delmar Harter in 2015 when she and her family moved into their new home in California
• Since then, Gomez has become fast friends with Harter, now 85. She and her family always invite him to go out to eat, attend church with them and come to their birthday parties
• Early on in their friendship, Gomez learned that Harter loved ice cream and food. So, she and her family would invite Harter on spontaneous ice cream runs
• Last year, Gomez started posting videos on TikTok of ice cream runs with Harter, along with other meaningful moments they’ve shared. To her surprise, many of the videos went viral

Julissa Gomez first met Delmar Harter in 2015 when she and her family moved into their new home in California. The retired machinist, who lived next door, came up to the family’s front door with a big smile and handed them a cut-out newspaper joke, saying, “I thought you could use a laugh,” Gomez, 27, recalls.

Since that day, Gomez has become fast friends with Harter, now 85. She and her family always invite him to go out to eat, attend church with them and come to their birthday parties. And Harter has never declined an invitation.

“Delmar’s warmth and humor made it easy to bond with him, and before we knew it, he was a part of our family,” Gomez, an enrollment counselor, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “We immediately adopted him as one of our own, and over the years, he’s been a constant source of joy, always looking out for us with his thoughtful gestures and hilarious jokes.”

Early on in their friendship, Gomez learned that Harter loved ice cream and food. It became a routine for the family and Harter to go to church on Sundays and then head to Denny’s or one of their local favorite restaurants. But during the week, whenever Gomez and her family were craving ice cream, they would just walk next door and ask Harter if he wanted anything, thus beginning their ice cream runs.

“Our first ice cream run was on New Year’s Day,” Gomez says. “I remember my family and I were just home because we have a dog named Rambo, and we like to keep him inside during the fireworks. We asked Delmar if he had any plans, and he said no, so we brought him over and started playing the game Trivial Pursuit, his favorite game.”

“We were all craving a sweet treat, so we drove to Baskin-Robbins, picked up some ice cream, and took it back home to eat and play the rest of the game,” she adds, noting that Delmar does not like to ask for anything and is very humble.

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For the friends, a typical ice cream run is always spontaneous, usually starting with Gomez and her family calling Harter and asking if he’s craving ice cream. Typically, he says yes, and they tell him to be ready in 20 minutes or so. They walk over to his house and guide him to their car.

Once Harter is in the car, they talk about their days and laugh because he always tells the funniest jokes, Gomez says. Then, they’ll arrive at the ice cream shop, usually Baskin-Robbins, where Gomez says her favorite flavor is Cookie Monster. Harter rotates between his three go-to flavors: Cherry, Strawberry and Mint — without the chocolate chips.

“We always pay; Delmar has never spent a dime, and that’s the way we like it,” she adds. “Helping others, whether through simple acts of kindness like this ice cream run or more significant gestures, is part of living out our faith.”

“After ice cream, we either sit in the car and talk or eat at Delmar’s house and watch some TV with him,” she adds. “We talk about his memories and experiences. When he was younger, he traveled across the United States with his father and climbed mountains.”

Last year, Gomez started posting videos on TikTok of ice cream runs with Harter, along with other meaningful moments they’ve shared. To her surprise, many of the videos went viral.

One video Gomez shared of Harter sitting and watching movies at her house went viral, garnering more than 20.5 million views and 36,000 comments. Another video, which amassed more than 384,000 views, captured Harter with Gomez and her family on an ice cream run to Baskin-Robbins. “This is everything!” the ice cream franchise commented on the post.

“I was shocked when Delmar went viral because I had posted about him a few times before,” Gomez tells PEOPLE. “We are so very thankful for this opportunity because now everyone loves Delmar as much as we do, and we get to raise awareness about the importance of helping elderly people.”

“All the comments were incredibly sweet and supportive,” she adds. “What really stood out to me were the people who mentioned knowing elderly individuals in their neighborhoods. After watching our video, they felt inspired to reach out and offer help in any way they could.”

Gomez adds that when she told Harter he had gone viral, he was overwhelmed with gratitude and amazement.

“He never expected such an outpouring of love from so many people, and the fact that they want to send him gifts has left him absolutely speechless,” she says. “It’s incredibly heartwarming for him to know that so many people care and want to show their appreciation in such thoughtful ways.”

“With all the amazing support we’ve gotten on TikTok, we’re now able to take Delmar to Disneyland. It’s been incredible to see the love and support from everyone, and we’re going to make sure to keep surprising him with more special moments.”

While Gomez and her family have had so much fun surprising Harter with ice cream runs and little acts of kindness, they’re hoping to help him even more. Gomez says her family recently set up a GoFundMe for his medical expenses.

As for their next adventure, Gomez is excited to bring their story to light through a children’s book called The Friendship Next Door with Delmar, which will detail how they met, there adventures and all the surprise dates they’ve had together.

“My friendship with Delmar means the world to me. We’ve known each other for 10 years now, and in that time, we’ve built a bond that goes beyond just being friends — we’re family,” she says. “One of the things I really value about our friendship is knowing that if Delmar ever needs help in the future, we’ll be there to take care of him — just like he’s always had my back.”

“It’s about being a solid support system for each other, now and always,” she continues. “If he ever needs anything in the future, we’ll be there to protect and care for him just like family would. That’s what true friendship is all about.”