Valarie Watts Lost Her First Son to Stillbirth; Gerald Kumpula Transformed Noah’s Crib From a Symbol of Grief Into a Bench for Comfort.

In Cokato, Minnesota, a crib sat in the garage during a yard sale along with clothes fit for a newborn. It’s not an uncommon sight, really: as children grow up, they outgrow clothes and furniture and their nursery grows up with them. For Valarie Watts, though, selling her son Noah’s crib was harder than most. Then, something happened in the final few days. She could feel that he wasn’t moving, and it worried her. When little Noah was finally born, it was a tragic stillbirth. That was almost a year ago. Fast forward to the garage sale: Valarie didn’t want to sell his crib, but she knew it was an ever-open wound that needed to heal. She hesitantly sold it to Gerald Kumpula, whose wife had learned from Valarie of her baby’s tragic passing. Two weeks later, Gerald returned with the crib…sort of. He had reworked her symbol of pain into a source of comfort.

In his workshop, Gerald has lots of different projects he tinkers with. Recently, he has been converting headboards and footboards into unique, custom-made benches. To see his incredible act of kindness, watch the video below…