Bob Hollis was renovating his home when a Florida hospital called—his wife Mary had gone into early labor and died during childbirth. A baby girl had survived, and she was his. Bob and Mary had longed for a child together, though they had adopted three before this pregnancy. Bob, already a father of two from a previous marriage, rushed to Florida to claim his newborn daughter.

At the hospital, an 82-year-old volunteer named Mrs. Sticks gently explained what had happened. She offered comfort and warned him of the responsibility he was about to take on. Days later, at the airport, Bob was told he couldn’t board—his baby was too young to fly. Alone, stranded, and grieving, Bob called Mrs. Sticks.

She opened her home to him for a week. Her kindness stunned him. Even his daughter adored her. When Bob finally flew back to Texas, he stayed in touch.

Years later, at her funeral, a lawyer revealed that Mrs. Sticks had left part of her estate to Bob. Deeply moved, he donated it to a nonprofit he founded with her children—a tribute to the woman he called an angel.

“Compassion still exists,” he said. “She proved it to me.”