<strong>Lost and found: </strong>The folder of letters left on the Southwest plane.
Lost and found: The folder of letters left on the Southwest plane.
Southwest Airlines
<strong>Sibling bond: </strong>Philip and Lois Schafer -- who would later exchange letters -- as children.
Sibling bond: Philip and Lois Schafer -- who would later exchange letters -- as children.
Rachel DeGolia
<strong>Forever friends:</strong> Lois wrote to her brother Phil her whole life.
Forever friends: Lois wrote to her brother Phil her whole life.
Rachel DeGolia
<strong>Memories forever: </strong>Rachel DeGolia and her mother Lois before she passed away in 1996.
Memories forever: Rachel DeGolia and her mother Lois before she passed away in 1996.
Rachel DeGolia
<strong>Happy day:</strong> The letters tell of Lois and Frank Rosen's engagement -- here they are on their wedding day.
Happy day: The letters tell of Lois and Frank Rosen's engagement -- here they are on their wedding day.
Rachel DeGolia
<strong>Family history:</strong> Lois and her mother Ruth on the Mississippi River.
Family history: Lois and her mother Ruth on the Mississippi River.
Rachel DeGolia
<strong>Small town kids: </strong>Lois, Phil and their cousins at Lansing, which she was keen to leave.
Small town kids: Lois, Phil and their cousins at Lansing, which she was keen to leave.
Rachel DeGolia
<strong>Ticket to ride: </strong>Lois dreamed of escaping small-town Lansing, Iowa, which today has a population of 968.
Ticket to ride: Lois dreamed of escaping small-town Lansing, Iowa, which today has a population of 968.
www.alamy.com/Alamy Stock Photo
<strong>Mother love: </strong>Lois at her daughter Rachel's wedding in 1979.
Mother love: Lois at her daughter Rachel's wedding in 1979.
Rachel DeGolia
<strong>Guardian angel: </strong>Sarah Haffner, the Southwest employee who reunited Rachel with the letters.
Guardian angel: Sarah Haffner, the Southwest employee who reunited Rachel with the letters.
Courtesy Sarah Haffner
<strong>Back to her roots: </strong>Lois on the Mississippi River.
Back to her roots: Lois on the Mississippi River.
Rachel DeGolia