Dressed as Santa Claus, gave out toys at Christmas
Deerfield Beach children and families lost their longtime community Santa Claus with the death earlier this month of Rosby McIntosh Sr.
He suffered a heart attack and died Dec. 11 after a monthlong hospitalization. McIntosh was 73.
For 15 years, McIntosh and his wife donned the festive crimson wear of Mr. & Mrs. Claus, rode a firetruck adorned as a sleigh and handed out teddy bears, candy and toys at Westside Park on behalf of the Nana’s Helping Hand nonprofit organization.
“Well, it was ho, ho, ho, just like all the other Santas, waving, talking to all the children and asking them what they wanted for Christmas,” McIntosh’s widow, Wendy, said Friday. “It’d give our hearts much joy when we would see the children running out to the truck and jumping up and down and waving, saying ‘hey, Santa, hi Santa.”
A neighbor’s efforts to select a needy family to provide for over the holidays morphed into Nana’s Helping Hand Inc., which in turn became an annual community endeavor, said Wendy McIntosh, 69.
The McIntoshes bought their fur-trimmed regalia at a Deerfield Beach costume store, spending an initial $50 to $75, and occasionally investing in costume upgrades over the years.
The McIntoshes also paid for the sweet treats and toys they would give to the 200 or so children who would turn out the weekend before Christmas at Westside Park, east of Interstate 95 and south of Hillsboro Boulevard.
When the yuletide season hit, McIntosh would start chomping at the bit, Wendy McIntosh said.
“He couldn’t hardly wait,” she said. “When the time came he wanted to make sure that we had everything we needed and he had his suit prepared and cleaned and ready to get dressed and go.”
When Nana’s went defunct about five years ago, the McIntoshes continued the Christmas tradition up until last year when McIntosh’s grandson filled his grandfather’s Kris Kringle boots.
“He loved doing it, ’cause he was giving back to the community and he loved the smiles on the children’s faces,” Wendy McIntosh said. “We always looked forward to doing it.”
Born in Vidalia, Ga., McIntosh was raised in Pompano Beach, where he graduated from Blanche Ely High School in 1964. Together with his brother he worked at plastering pools.
Aside from his wife of 49 years, McIntosh is survived by five children: Patrick Dukes, Rosby McIntosh Jr., Lynnette McIntosh, Catina McIntosh and Robin McIntosh.
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