Buffalo woman’s simple act of kindness ends with a lost wallet being returned to owner

By Sydni Eure

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    BUFFALO, New York (WKBW) — It’s an incredible story of a man who lost his wallet here in the Queen City only to have a woman take the extra mile to return it to him safely.

It all happened on Elmwood Avenue in front of JT’s and it’s a story that normally wouldn’t have a happy ending attached to it. However, here in the city of good neighbors, this time it did.

with a lost wallet being returned to owner

A woman goes the extra mile to return a strangers wallet.

Woman returns lost wallet By: Sydni EurePosted at 11:37 PM, Apr 24, 2023 and last updated 5:36 PM, Apr 25, 2023 BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — It’s an incredible story of a man who lost his wallet here in the Queen City only to have a woman take the extra mile to return it to him safely.

It all happened on Elmwood Avenue in front of JT’s and it’s a story that normally wouldn’t have a happy ending attached to it. However, here in the city of good neighbors, this time it did.

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It all began with some car troubles, the kind that come at the worst possible time. For Buffalo man, Gerald Trunzo Jr. his Saturday was definitely one of those times.

“My car which always gives me a hassle that will not lock was giving me a hassle and would not lock and I’m fumbling around with it trying to get the stupid car to lock,” said Gerald Trunzo Jr.

Trunzo said somewhere in the shuffle of his busy Saturday full of running errands and his stingy key fob his wallet hit the ground but he had no idea exactly where.

“When I went to pay for the gift at Everything Elmwood I realized that my wallet was gone,” said Trunzo. “I had five credit cards in there, I had cash and I was just frantic. What was I going to do especially on a Saturday.”

So between rushing around town, fumbling with key fobs and ultimately dropping his wallet, Trunzo thought all hope was lost but luckily for him, his wallet was picked up by a good Buffalo Samaritan, Johnella Foy.

“I seen something standing up in the street you know and I’m like, you know, what is that you know,” Johnella Foy asked herself. “I think that’s a wallet.”

Foy said she was leaving dinner at JT’s when she first saw the wallet lying in the street. With nothing but an address on the license inside as her only clue, she knew exactly what she had to do.

“So I went up on the porch and I rung the doorbell,” said Foy.

But no one was there to answer. After asking a few neighbors to no avail, Foy decided to get back in the car and write a note to leave behind. In that same moment, Trunzo arrived back at his home.

“So I said let me get out this car and see if this guy looks like this picture but you didn’t look like the picture,” said Foy. “You looked a whole lot younger than the picture.”

“My heart lit up because I knew if she knew my name was Gerald, because it’s not on my mailbox, that she had my wallet which she did and I was so relieved,” Trunzo rejoiced.

“I can’t believe you did that for me you’re the best,” said Trunzo.

“I would have done it for you and anybody else,” replied Foy.

And Foy believes that’s just what good neighbors do.

“I just took it upon myself to do the best that I could to return it to them and I would have been anybody,” said Foy. “Even my worst enemy, I would have returned it to them too because that’s just the thing that you’re supposed to do.”

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