911 Response for the Ages: 5 Most Uplifting Stories

A pair of stories about generosity in action highlight the week's list of uplifting stories:

• Ailing Vet Calls 911 for Food, Gets 'Miracle': Clarence Blackmon, an 81-year-old Army veteran, returned to his North Carolina apartment after battling prostate cancer to find his cupboards bare and his stomach rumbling. He called 911. Did the dispatcher get angry? Not even close.
• Slain Deputy's Son Receives a Special Gift: Five years ago, Tanner Brownlee's dad was killed in the line of duty as a deputy for the Weld County Sheriff's Office in Colorado. This week, he bid on his father's old patrol car at auction, but fell short. Or so he thought.

• Wild Coincidences Bring Separated Sisters Together: There are simple coincidences, and then there's the story of Lizzie Valverde and Katy Olson. They learned they were sisters only in their 30s, after turning up in the same writing class at Columbia. Turns out, their biological mom has a notable story, too.
• A Doctorate Foiled by the Nazis No More: Ingeborg Rapoport, a 102-year-old retired neonatologist, is about to become the oldest person ever to receive a doctoral degree. Already impressive—but adding more intrigue to this story is the fact that Rapoport submitted her thesis on diphtheria to the University of Hamburg in 1938. Problem: She happens to be Jewish.
• Dead Diner Leaves Waitresses Wild Tip: When art collector Robert "King of Ming" Ellsworth died last year, the 85-year-old was said to have been worth an estimated $200 million; now, two employees of his favorite NYC restaurant have something big to remember him by: $50,000 each. The best part is how Ellsworth identified them in his will.

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