Holly Willis was moving some items in the back of her truck up the Pacific Highway to her home in Woolgoolga, Australia, when she misplaced two of her most prized possessions: a pair of family heirloom guitars that belonged to her late father, Gerry Willis. He was a professional musician who passed away in 2018 from dementia. "I had my dad's really special guitars on the back of the [truck] all wrapped up, thinking they were nice and safe," she recalls, “We got home to Wooli and discovered those two most precious things were gone. I was very upset. I couldn't believe it."
It was late, so she posted about the lost items on social media and went to bed with plans to go out in the morning to search for the precious guitars, but she was so upset, she could hardly sleep. "I had a sleepless night feeling terrible I had lost such important family heirlooms," Holly says. Fortunately, she woke up to good news. "I received a message from a lovely lady in Woolgoolga called Pam simply saying: 'Holly, I have found your guitars!'" she recalls.
Right away, Holly met with Pam to retrieve the guitars. She tried to give her a reward, but Pam wouldn’t hear it. "I was beyond grateful so I offered her a reward and she refused to take it, saying, 'This is what we should do for others.'" Instead, Holly gave Pam a hug and piece of artwork that she’d created. And now, Holly and her family have the precious family heirlooms back to serve as a connection to her father.