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70-year-old passport found in wall of Detroit home presented to relatives

By and FOX 2 Staff
Published  July 31, 2024 10:53pm EDT
Detroit
FOX 2 Detroit

Vintage US passport found inside Detroit home, given to family

During a renovation project 10 years ago, the document was unearthed. The man who found it recently spoke with FOX 2 about giving it to any of the woman's remaining relatives -- and that is exactly what happened less than a week later.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - One house, two different families, and 70 years of history – all brought together by a vintage passport from the 1950s.

Agnes Beatrice Helferty's 70-year-old passport was hidden in the wall of a house on Fielding Street on Detroit’s west side. 

During a renovation project 10 years ago, the document was unearthed. The man who found it recently spoke with FOX 2 about giving it to any of the woman's remaining relatives.

And that is exactly what happened less than a week later.

"Oh that is fantastic. That is absolutely fantastic," Jim Kelly said as he was presented with Helferty's U.S. government Certificate of Citizenship.

Helferty was Kelly's mother-in-law. She hailed from Canada, and the passport was issued to her in 1955. 

"Boy, that picture just jogs my memory. Brings me right back." Jim said. "She was a super lady, and she was so good to the kids."

Jim spent many years with his son Pat Kelly at the Fielding Street home in Detroit, where the artifact was later discovered by Phillip McDonald. 

"I’m just like my dad. I’m just very grateful to (McDonald)," Pat, Helferty's grandson, said. "I know this was also a home where he raised his family."

McDonald's family had lived in the home for a whole generation before renting it out.

"The house had a tenant in it and the house caught on fire. So in the process of doing the repairs, we had to take drywall down," McDonald said. "I believe it was in that last bedroom, and it was hidden inside the wall by a 2x4. So when we pulled it out, it was like, ‘interesting!’"

A longtime family friend of the Kellys just happened to see FOX 2's previous coverage on the passport and picked up the phone to inform them.

"I’m in bed, and you get a midnight call; that’s a little strange!" Jim said.

So, through the magic of television, history and one mint-condition document – several memories are coming alive, and her family was more than happy to go down memory lane.

Helferty left behind seven grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and 27 great-great-grand children.