Man heartbroken after wallet with late dad's message stolen, receives an unmarked envelope

Jonathan (@pourfairelevide) experienced a devastating loss nearly 15 years ago when his father passed away. In his final moments, his dad dictated a heartfelt note to his nurse, Omar. After his passing, the greatest gift left for Jonathan was this note, printed on a piece of paper with their home address on the back. Jonathan carried that paper folded in his wallet every day—until the wallet was stolen, and the note disappeared with it. Heartbroken, he thought it was lost forever. But a few years later, an unmarked envelope appeared at his doorstep. Inside, to his amazement, was his wallet. The money was gone, but the note remained, neatly folded, a priceless memory preserved. In October 2023, Jonathan shared the story on X, along with a picture of the cherished paper.

Wrinkled with creases, the paper holds the weight of memories Jonathan shared with his father and the deep love they had for each other. “I wanted to start by letting you know how much I love you and how proud I am of all your accomplishments,” his father wrote. Now a PhD student, Jonathan cherishes these words more than ever. “Your accomplishments exceeded my expectations, and regardless of what obstacles arise in your life, I want you to keep focused on accomplishing your goals and making us proud.”

The poignant letter continued with his dad inspiring Jonathan to stay focused and be courageous. “I know it must be very difficult for you to stay focused while you’re seeing me struggle through my illness. I am very proud of your strength and courage in helping me deal with my illness and being able to stay focused on your studies at the same time. Even if I am not here at some point, I want you to continue to be strong and courageous and to help your mother get through this. Even if I am not here, I will always be in your heart and watching over you.”

The old man continued by telling his son that in the future, he should find a woman and get married, which, as it seems, he has done. In a post on his website, Jonathan recently announced that he just got married to a woman named Jane who writes poetry. “In the future, I’d like to see you meet a woman who is your equal, who is as intelligent, loving, kind, and brave as you are. Then I’d like to see you pass on your virtues to your children, and so on. Until we are reunited in heaven, in the future, I wish you and your mother all of the happiness that life has to offer. Be good to yourself, to your mother, and to your future family. I will always love you forever.”

The tear-jerking letter caught the attention of 1.7 million people who liked the tweet, and hundreds of them left touching comments. “The most touching thing,” commented @harrietgriffey. @davverodomini told Jonathan the letter is a “touchstone for the entire remainder of your journey.” @lj198767 gave him a suggestion, “Make a copy to carry and put the original in a safety deposit box.”

In a comment, @charitymain306 reflected how even the most evil of people have a tiny spark of humanity in their hearts. “As much as it sucks they stole your wallet, both the letter in its raw, inspiring, loving & supportive tone & the act of thieves with humanity mailing it back gives me a little glimpse of hope there is still goodness in this world,” Another person, @karebearscare shared a similar episode, “I carry around in my wallet this $2 bill that my dad gave me right before he got sick for 2 years and passed. And, funnily enough, today is the 9th anniversary of my father’s death, so your tweet just broke me - in a good way. Kismet-like!”