Helen Goldsworthy was “quite teary” when she learned how deeply her random act of kindness had touched an Albury family’s hearts.
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Bailee and Joshua Smith last week told The Border Mail how grateful they were to the kind stranger who saved precious keepsakes of their baby girl at the Albury lawn cemetery during a scheduled clean-up.
The Thurgoona couple was “overwhelmed” someone thought to save the priceless mementoes and return them to Lucy’s grave and wanted to thank their guardian angel personally.
Social media did its work as soon as The Border Mail article appeared last Saturday and almost immediately the stranger’s identity was revealed.
Mrs Goldsworthy’s daughter, Tanya Thies, contacted Bailee on Facebook to let her know it was her mum who had packed up the items and returned them.
Now Mrs Goldsworthy feels a little overwhelmed herself that the Smiths were so touched by her actions.
“I was upset all day when I heard,” she said.
“I guess I’m a bit of a sook because I was teary all day about the fact I had touched someone’s heart in that way.”
The well-known owner of the Simple Indulgence gift shops in Wodonga and Lavington said it was a “blessing in disguise” that led to her rescuing the graveside items.
“My husband was actually in hospital in Melbourne at the time and he goes up (to Glenmorus Gardens) most Sundays so he is the one who would normally retrieve our grand-daughter’s things,” she said.
“It was late on the Sunday, about 5.30pm, when I went up and it was the last day of the notice from the cemetery to remove items.
“There were some beautiful cherubs and fairies on one grave that I just could not bear to leave there. Then I spotted the ornaments on the next grave (Lucy’s) and I went back to the car to collect another bag for them.
“If my husband had not been in hospital, none of this would have happened.”
Mrs Goldsworthy returned the items a fortnight later, unaware she had helped allay further heartache for the Smiths ahead of the anniversary of Lucy’s death at just 21 weeks on July 29, 2011.
“These little knick-knacks are all we have to represent her belongings,” Bailee said.
