Some details of the story may never be discovered, but one thing is for sure–the ring has made it back home.

Jo Ann Davis Beaver lost her Albert G. Parrish High School class of 1956 ring 42 years ago. In the back of her mind, she kept thinking that maybe it would turn up, maybe today she would find the ring. But she never found it in her home.

Beaver would not have never been reunited with her ring if not for the kindness of a stranger.

Outside of Hunstville, Jeanette Groover rummaged through boxes of old jewelry and odds and ends to see if she could sell any gold items online.

Her collection of items had sat for at least 10 years in storage since she closed her antique store, but when the price of gold rose, she thought she would they to make a little extra money online.

Groover found the ring in one of the boxes and sought to reconnect it with the owner. She has no idea where she bought the ring or when, so the details of the ring’s exact journey may never be known.

Beaver received the ring this week and is relieved to have it back in her possession after decades.

The part of the story I find the most touching, although the reunion with the ring is important, is the kindness of strangers.

For reasons not even Groover exactly knows, she wanted to find the owner of the ring and give it back to them. She could have kept the ring or sold it to someone else online and saved the profits, but that wasn’t the plan.

Groover’s kindness and curiosity meant that a woman miles away could breathe a sigh of relief.

Not every kind act has to involve as much research or drastic quest for an owner. Offering kindness is a simple as opening a door for someone with an armful of boxes, picking up and returning an item dropped as a person walked away or letting the person with four items skip you in the checkout line when your cart is full.

In everything we do, we can help someone else. Kindness does not take a giant effort.