At Autumn Care nursing home, 80-year-old Wilson Wright Sr. sat quietly in his room watching TV.

A smile suddenly spread across his face, and it had nothing to do with the exploits of Dr. Phil burbling away in the corner.

“Happy Father’s Day,” said Suffolk Sheriff’s Deputy Wilson Wright Jr., who had crept into the room to surprise his dad.

The younger Wright handed over a Father’s Day card handmade by Chief Deputy E.C. Harris’s wife, Deborah Harris. It was one of many distributed around the nursing home on Friday.

Helping with the merry task were deputies William C. Goodman and Eddie Harville, as well as Katie Jones, Suffolk Sheriff’s office’s civil enforcement secretary.

They didn’t just hand out the homemade cards; they also bantered with the residents, offered blessings and even asked a Redskins blanket-clad Donnie Shaver, 74, what he thinks about his favorite football team’s chances this year.

“You’re a Redskins fan, and we’re coming around honoring all the Redskins fans,” Harville joked.

Wright said the exercise was extra special for him, because his father is a resident. Indeed, that’s what sparked the ongoing relationship the sheriff’s office has with Autumn Care, according to Jones.

It started off with Valentine’s Day cards made by students at Elephant’s Fork Elementary School and has also included Mother’s Day cards made by Deborah Harris, Jones said.

“If one person smiles out here today, then we have done a good thing,” Jones said.

According to Harville, the elderly are a community’s biggest asset. “They are our history, they are our example; they are who we look up to,” he said.

The visit also had a personal connection for Harville — he recently lost his mother, whom the family had looked after at home, and his father died in a nursing home.

“Folks here just want folks to pay attention to them,” according to Harville.

The deputies agreed the nursing home visit was a welcome change from keeping order at the courthouse and serving summonses.

“It’s a nice contrast to what we normally have to do,” Harville said. “It helps balance it out.”