Posted on 01/23/2020 10:32:52 AM PST by SeekAndFind
OVID, MI — When Howard Kirby returned more than $43,000 in cash he found in a couch cushion he bought at a thrift store, the mid-Michigan man said he didn’t want attention or expect a reward.
But doing the right thing has touched others who are now helping Kirby with his needs.
The Saginaw branch of Eikenhout Building Supplies is donating the materials needed to give Kirby’s home a new roof and a local contractor has volunteered to fix it, Kirby said Wednesday, Jan. 22.
A GoFundMe page in support of Kirby has so far, raised more than $2,200 as of Wednesday afternoon.
“I don’t know how to say it, I’m blessed,” Kirby said. “I’m blessed beyond words.”
Thankful
Kirby lives in Ovid, a small city about 10 miles west of Owosso, with his eldest son Ben, daughter-in-law Diane and a menagerie of their pets: a dog and six cats. He’s almost a year into full retirement after a career in floor maintenance with Walmart.
The old set of furniture he purchased for $70 at a Habitat for Humanity Restore is spread across his basement. His cat Misty relaxes on the same cushion Diane found the cash inside, stuffed into two envelopes.
The last few years haven’t been kind to Kirby and his family. Ben lost his job, causing his family to move in. Kirby himself went through a divorce and a cousin he was very close to died suddenly from cancer this time last year, not long after he dodged a tumor of his own when he had a kidney removed.
Finding the cash inside the old couch was surreal for Diane. She could barely find words other than “Dad, money!” Both Ben and Howard thought she was talking about Monopoly money at first, she said. It could’ve done wonders for their house, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t Kirby’s money and he knew he wanted to do the right thing.
“Being a born-again Christian, Christ in me is the one that actually gave the money back,” Kirby said. “Remember the bracelets, WWJD? Well, that’s what Jesus would do.”
Since the news of what happened spread, he’s gotten an outpouring of support. On top of the free roof and GoFundMe, he’s received texts from strangers who say he’s encouraged them to do good, he said.
The family he returned the money to had donated the couch after their grandfather had died. They took him out to dinner recently, he said, and also want to do something to repay him.
“There is so much thankfulness, it boggles my mind sometimes what is happening for me,” Kirby said. “I’m just amazed by it."
Kirby said he’s trying his best not to “get a big head” over the situation, insisting all the credit belongs with Christ.
“I have had so much peace, so much joy because I did do it, that $43,000 never could buy that much joy or peace or happiness," Kirby said.
Inspired
John Conversa, the branch manager for Eikenhout Saginaw, said Eikenhout’s owners are faith-based and like to help people when it’s warranted. Hearing of Kirby’s story, they wanted to help solve his needs to reward his honesty, he said. The roof work will begin in about a week, depending on the weather, Conversa said.
“We’re not doing it so much for a PR thing, we want to promote these kind of actions that he did,” Conversa said. “There’s not very many people nowadays who are upstanding like that. It’s a good thing for our employees to see that.”
Jay Tyrrell, a resident of Ancaster, Ontario, started the GoFundMe fundraiser after being inspired by Kirby.
“It shows that there’s still good people out there," Tyrrell said. “It’s been very inspiring. I hope that his actions will have other people kind of look at their own lives and think about how they can be better members of society... can get inspired to do the right thing.”
There are lots of financially ignorant people out there.
I often wonder if such people even deserve to get that money back after being so stupid with it.
It would be delicious irony if poor Mr. Kirby continues to struggle with poverty while the family that got the money back took a Vegas vacation with it.
Hookers, cocaine and gambling.
“....after a career in floor maintenance with Walmart.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nice way of saying he mopped the floors.
And that would be completely legal.
On the morality side...............you could take a lesson from this guy.
Im pretty honest but i cant say 100% I would not have kept the money. This guy is a real trooper.
FOOL!!!!!!
OH!, CAT people, never mind.
Well bless your little heart. Your real name isn’t Potter, is it?
I’ve run into a few very good Michigan types.
“Cheesy bastards who got the 43 large should have given him a generous reward.”
They should have given it BACK! It wasn’t theirs! They had no right to the money.
This isn’t the same as finding somebody’s purse with money in it.
The family donated the dead guy’s couch to the thrift store.
Transfer of ownership.
The new guy BUYS the couch now OWNED by the thrift store.
Transfer of OWNERSHIP. Including ANYTHING in the couch.
The cat guy did nothing heroic. It was STUPID and FOOLISH.
He gave the money (not “gave back”, because it was never theirs) to people who had no right to the money.
They should be ASHAMED for TAKING the money!
Well hey, I’m glad people here want to pose and act like if they found a nickel in the pocket of a shirt they bought from a thrift store, they wont rest until it is returned to the family of the guy that died before they donated it because they think Jesus is going to give them a hug.
But in the end, this was an item that was chucked-out to a thrift store because they didn’t care about it or what was in it. It only has a value to them because 43K was found inside. If it went to the dump, then these people would really be SOL.
It’s no different than when I make 500 dollars reselling an item I buy from an estate sale for 10 dollars.
The guy in the article wasn’t being “honest”, he was being generous with careless people.
Unlike our cleaning woman, who after losing $200 at a dollar store, replied regarding someone turning it in, that she would just keep it for herself if she had found it.
Thanks for posting this story.
They drive these big stripping and waxing machines . The crew that worked at the local Wal-Mart were all foreigners.
A few years back some of them were arrested , illegal aliens from Bulgaria.
“I often wonder if such people even deserve to get that money back after being so stupid with it.”
I know you said “such people”, but in THIS case, they weren’t stupid with the money, the dead guy was. Actually, hiding cash in the couch is not such a stupid idea.
They didn’t know anything about the couch money.
They didn’t DESERVE to get the money.
On a side note...
Actually, hiding cash in the couch is not such a stupid idea. Trust banks? Earn all that interest? lol.
Cash on hand for any emergency.
Even dying with it in the couch and telling no one about it is FINE!
It was HIS money. He is under no obligation to give it to his relatives. Maybe he didn’t even like them.
Me too! My Great Aunt put money in books all over her house.
I think you probably speak for the majority. I think most people would like to think they would do the right thing, but nobody knows for sure until they are actually holding that money in their hands.
As others have noted here, the man who purchased the sofa likely had every legal right to the money.
Of course, he likely had no idea of the circumstances under which the couch was donated when he found the money, and no way of knowing the prior owner was deceased until he started tracking them down. I can think of several scenarios where family members, oblivious to the money being in the couch, could have donated it (with good or bad intent), while the rightful owner was still alive and in need of the money.
What a doofus. The cash was part of the stuffing, and was an integral part of the couch.
Exactly.
When my m-i-l passed, we checked EVERYTHING.
We found some money stashed in books so we flipped through EVERY book we got rid of because we just didn't know.
She had also lost a diamond ring which someone found BEFORE we donated the furniture. It had slipped down inside a couch and she had no idea. She thought someone stole it (She had dementia and did not remember what she had done with it) but we found it when vacuuming the couch. It was just a matter of sticking our hands down between the arm of the couch and the bottom after taking the cushions off, you know the place where you find all the money that slips out of your pocket.
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