KALA POINT — When Vincent Verneuil travels during the winter holiday season and catches children looking at him, he knows what they’re thinking.
“They want to know what my name is,” Verneuil said. “I see their parents nudging them, telling them to go over and ask.”
What they really want to know is if Verneuil is Santa Claus.
For many people, Verneuil, a retired chemical engineer who lives in Kala Point, is Santa Claus.
For the past eight years, he has played Santa for patients in nursing homes and hospitals, at parties and in private homes.
He does not take money for appearances.
“Santa brings out people’s deepest memories,” Verneuil says. “It makes me feel good, and it helps people feel good.”
At 6-foot-1, Verneuil, who sports a white beard, is a natural for the role.
He has the twinkling eyes, the cherry nose and admits to weighing more than 250 pounds.
Only an accent belies his Louisiana roots.
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The rest of the story appears in the Thursday Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE, above, to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.