Waitress in tears after receiving emotional tip

It started off as a slow day for waitress Claire Hudson. But it would be one she wouldn't forget after receiving a touching tip from a customer.

Hudson, 25, of Spring Hill, Tenn. was working a double shift at Mac's Grub Shack on Sunday when a couple came in to eat. After the couple finished dining, they left behind a $36 dollar tip on a check that wasn't more than $30.

"I didn't even realize the tip until after they were gone," Hill told ABC News. "I would've liked to have caught them and said 'hey this is awesome . . . they did it anonymously and it was really sweet."

But it wasn't the dollar amount that brought tears to Hudson's eyes. Rather, the touching note the couple left behind explaining the significance behind the digits.

"Today is my brother's b-day," the note said, written on the back of the credit card receipt. "He would have been 36 today. Every year I go eat his favorite meal (hot dogs) and tip the waitress his age. Happy B-day Wes."

The touching message quickly brought tears to Hudson's eyes.

"I was in tears when I read it," Hudson told ABC News. "I had to go in the back of the restaurant and compose myself before I went out to my other tables."

Hudson posted an image of the tip on Reddit, where it quickly went viral, amassing over 350,000 upvotes and 1.5 million views on Imgur. Now Hudson is attempting to track the anonymous tipper down.

"We want to see what his brother Wes liked on his hot dogs because we'd like to name a hot dog after him," Hudson said.

Part of what made the tip so emotional for Hudson was her own experience with a friend's death.

"I have a friend, he was my best friend, he died about three years ago," Hudson told ABC News. "This experience has definitely given me the idea to do the same thing on his birthday every year. It was deeply moving and just the coolest thing that's ever happened."