‘A Heartwarming Act of Kindness in Missouri’
November 15, 2024
A touching story of compassion unfolded in O’Fallon, Missouri, involving a grieving woman and a kind-hearted stranger.
Jean Wolf, aged 74, faced a distressing situation when she lost her phone and a folder containing her mother’s funeral plans. The items were misplaced during a moment of forgetfulness as Jean prepared for her mother’s imminent passing at a hospice.
Credit: Natasha Wolf / KSDK.com
While chatting with a neighbor, Jean placed her phone and important papers on her car’s trunk and then drove off, inadvertently leaving them on the road. The realization hit her hours later, leaving her panicked and distraught.
“I didn’t care about my phone at all. I cared about the papers,” Jean recounted with tears in her eyes. “I thought, where do I start now?”
This is where Arnie Dienoff, a stranger with plans for an estate sale, became a beacon of hope.
As Arnie drove by, he noticed papers strewn across the highway and decided to stop. Braving the traffic, he gathered the papers, discovering an obituary among them.
“I thought, oh my gosh, somebody just passed away, and they probably need this to make arrangements,” Arnie remarked.
Credit: Natasha Wolf / KSDK.com
Jean’s phone, which was also found by Arnie, began to ring. Her daughter was on the line, desperately trying to reach her mother. Arnie assured her he had recovered the phone and papers. Upon returning the items to Jean, she was overwhelmed by his generosity, unable to hold back her tears.
Arnie’s assistance did not stop there. After learning that a crucial handwritten note detailing the funeral arrangements was still missing, he returned to the highway. His diligent search along the roadside and ditches finally led to the recovery of the important document.
“The one paper I needed most of all is the one he found,” Jean expressed to KSDK, feeling as though Arnie was sent by her late father to help.
Though Jean offered Arnie money as thanks, he declined, preferring instead her gratitude, which came in the form of homemade brownies and a special nickname: “Arnie the Angel.”
