Man Gets Applauded For Good Deed He Did For An Elderly Lady At The Grocery Store

Jan 12, 2024

Being kind and generous to other people is priceless because regardless of how much you spend to help others, there will always be the feeling of contentment knowing that you can lend a helping hand to those who need it.

This is exactly what a father did when he encountered an elderly lady at the grocery store.

According to an article published by news.com.au in March 2017, a man named Ryan O’Donnell was waiting in line to check out his groceries at a supermarket in Wyoming.

An elderly woman was in front of him. Unfortunately, the sweet old lady was having a hard time purchasing her items because her card kept on being declined even though the cashier did their best to swipe it several times.

O’Donnell stepped in and decided to help the woman out by paying for her groceries.

“I was just there in the grocery aisle or checkout with my kids and I saw the old lady having some trouble with the card,” the then-34-year-old father told “The Today Show.”

He gave more insight into the sweet interaction, as he recalled, “By that stage my groceries had gone through and I went around and spoke to the young lady and said ‘how much is it’ and they said $44 or something ... her card kept being declined due to insufficient funds so I said ‘Look, here’s $50 just take it out of that’.”

His act of kindness was able to reach social media, and he was applauded by countless people after a user shared a photo of him and the elderly woman.

In a post shared on social media, a user named @Boycey1105 wrote in the caption of the image, “This guy at Wyoming Coles who just went through the register with his two kids paid for this ladies groceries when her card kept declining.”

In the image, O’Donnell could be seen wearing a yellow shirt and black shorts as the old lady stood there at the counter wearing a white shirt and blue pants. Her convertible walker could also be seen in the picture.

In a follow-up post, the user shared that the old woman insisted on paying him back, but O’Donnell refused to.

“Couldn’t fit this in the original tweet but she wanted to pay him back eventually and he just said “Don’t worry, have a good day”” the user added.

O’Donnell further shared the encounter in an interview, as he added, “The lady wanted to know how she was going to get the money back to me… I said ‘oh look, don’t worry about it — it’s only $44 you’ll be right and enjoy your day’. With that I walked off and I think I went and bought myself a coffee from Gloria Jeans.”

When asked why he made the sweet gesture, he explained that the woman was “getting confused,” and she reminded him of his own grandmother.

“I couldn’t walk away… That’s how my mum and dad brought me up,” he added.

Online users praised O’Donnell on social media for his heroic action, as one user wrote, “Absolute Champion. Should be more people like him in this world. If we all knew how to give, think of how amazing life would be?”

“There is still good in this world,” another one wrote.

What would you do if you were in the same situation as the elderly lady? How would you pass on kindness to other people? Let us know your thoughts, and make sure to pass this on to your friends and family.