Valarie Watts faced heartbreak in July when she delivered her stillborn son, Noah. While mourning her loss, she decided to sell many of the baby items she had purchased in hopes of bringing him home. However, one item — a white crib — was something she couldn’t bear to part with.

During a yard sale last month, 75-year-old retiree Gerald Kumpula spotted the crib and asked to buy it. Valarie, 28, initially hesitated but eventually agreed when she learned that Gerald, a craftsman, repurposed old furniture to create benches.

“I felt at peace with it because he was going to make something nice out of it,” Valarie said, letting the crib go for two dollars.

As Gerald’s wife, Lorene, browsed the sale, she noticed baby clothes and asked about the child. Valarie shared her heart-wrenching story. On their drive home, Lorene told Gerald about Valarie’s loss. Deeply moved, the couple knew the crib was meant to stay with Valarie.

A week later, they returned with a beautiful bench crafted from the crib, gifting it to Valarie at no cost.

Now placed in her living room — a space filled with memories of Noah — the bench serves as a comforting reminder of him.

“I’m so glad it’s not just sitting there unused,” she reflected. “Now I can sit on it, hold his bear, and think of him when I need to.”

In the final days of her pregnancy, Valarie had noticed decreased movement from Noah. On July 22, during a cesarean section, she and her fiancé, Jimi Hamblin, learned that Noah wasn’t breathing. Doctors explained that his umbilical cord had restricted his breathing.

Gerald and Lorene understood Valarie’s grief more than most — their first grandchild had also been stillborn. Gerald noted, “An empty crib is a sad reminder, but a bench feels more like a tribute. It’s still connected to the event, but it’s no longer just an empty crib.”

He refused any payment from Valarie. “It’s just nice to help someone,” Gerald said. “It feels good to do good for others.”

Valarie and Jimi are set to marry this fall and share a 7-year-old daughter, Nevaeh. The bench, now placed beside a bookshelf that holds Noah’s pictures, footprints, handprints, and ashes, is helping Valarie find healing.

“Even though he’s not physically here, I feel his presence when I sit on the bench,” Valarie said. “It gives me a sense of peace, a feeling that everything’s going to be okay. When I’m down, I can sit there and feel comforted, knowing that things will be alright in the end.”