Letter mailed in 1943 finally delivered to family 80 years later

Jan. 4 (UPI) -- A letter mailed to an Illinois couple in 1943 was finally delivered to a family member 80 years later after resurfacing at a post office.

The letter, addressed DeKalb residents Louis and Lavena George, resurfaced recently at the DeKalb Post Office, and a worker decided to try to track down family members.

The letter was finally delivered to Grace Salazar, a relative who lives in Portland, Ore., and she shared the piece of mail with Jeanette George, Louis and Lavena George's daughter.

"A message from the past, seemingly showing up out of nowhere, that's pretty incredible," Jeannette George told WIFR-TV. "Everybody was just like, 'My god,' you know? Gobsmacked. Just like, 'What is this?'"

The letter, mailed in 1943, was authored by a cousin expressing condolences to the Georges, whose first-born daughter, Evelyn, had died of cystic fibrosis.

"I got emotional about it. I mean, losing a child is always horrific," Jeannette George said. "It just sort of put me in touch with my parents' grief and the losses my family went through before I was even born."

The post office employee who tracked down the George family said the letter likely remained undelivered for so long because the mailing address had a street name, but no house number.