When Shannon Hiramoto recently went to her local Salvation Army in Lihue, Hawaii to find a mu’umu’u, she had no idea that she was about to find an absolute treasure.

Shannon loves wearing this traditional type of loose-fitting Hawaiian dress, and she quickly found the perfect dress there. It was only when she got home that Shannon noticed the strange handwriting of the tag, and when the reality of what was happening hit her, it took her breath away.

“I saw this beautiful muumuu right here, and I’m like, ooh, a mini one, because you know it’s always fun finding a shorter one,” Shannon recalled of the moment she saw the dress. “When I looked at the tag, it said Liberty House, then it also had handwritten on it ‘Kamei.'”

Kamei was Shannon’s great-grandmother’s last name, and as soon as she saw the handwriting, she remembered that her great-grandma would wear a similar outfit many years ago.

“I just knew that she always liked to wear muumuu that had pink or purple or red, and it seemed familiar in this memory way,” Shannon said. “Then a couple nights later, my mom texts me a photo and it’s this (pointing to muumuu) and it’s her, and it’s a full-body shot and I was just so excited.”

Shannon could not believe that she had bought the same dress that had once belonged to her great-grandmother! Her great-grandmother passed away many years ago, but finding her dress made Shannon feel closer to her than ever.

Shannon noticed that the above photo was taken at United Church of Christ in Hanapepe, which is still a special place to her family.

“What’s really special about it is she’s there,” Shannon said. “Her ashes, her remains are in the back of the church there, so it was like visiting her again.”

Shannon took this as a sign that she should pay the church a visit, and when she got there, she recreated the photo her great-grandmother had taken there years ago. You can see that photo in the video below!