Two days before Christmas in 1958, John Cruitt’s mother died after being seriously ill with multiple sclerosis. Cruitt was in third grade in Cecile Doyle’s class. When Doyle was eleven, she lost her father, and understood what it felt like to lose a parent at a young age. In a simple act of kindness that left a mark on Cruitt decades later, Doyle waited until all the students left the room at the end of the day, and told Cruit that she was there if he needed her. The simple act of kindness from a caring teacher was stamped in his memory. Fifty-four years later, he wrote her a letter to thank her. It couldn’t have arrived at a better time.
