She alighted from her car at the Starbucks parking lot in Fife, resplendently clad in a black dress, with flowing black tresses to boot. She looked more like a college sophomore going for an internship interview than a 39-year-old out-of-work grandmother.

There was an air of sophistication mingled in with a tinge of down-home earthiness as she walked sprightly in those high-heeled pumps before she sat down with me.

Lynita Regis, a Christ the King Bible Fellowship church member in Federal Way, turned over $271,366.01 to banking authorities after the money was mistakenly placed in her KeyBank account. The remarkable story first aired last week by Komo 4 News, when a family member notified the TV station.

The story began on the night of Thursday, May 7, 2009, when Regis went to her bank to withdraw money for her rent — and the ATM “ate the card.” She was subsequently issued a new card. It was while using this card that she discovered the windfall in her account.

After probing further into the incident, the single mother of three discovered that the money was from King County. She spent two years working as a corrections officer at the King County Detention Center. But she left the job some nine years ago. It turned out that Regis had trustee/signee privileges for all that time without her knowing until this snafu.

The KeyBank president at the corporate office in Bellevue personally thanked her for her honesty, and deposited a $500 reward in her account, she said. In the meantime, the bank has opened the “Lynita Regis Fund” where people wishing to donate toward this honest cause can do so at any KeyBank branch.

Temptations seem to come when people are at their lowest points, and Regis readily agreed to that maxim.

“I have never been this broke since I was 17,” she said while punctuating the air with one of her trademark raspy chuckles. “But I’m able to glorify God in all of this.”

The big question some people are asking: What would prompt an unemployed mother to turn over more than a quarter million dollars when she needed money more than drought-ravaged land needs water?

When all is said and done, the magic word here is integrity. People can tell you this and that, but the final decision to do the right thing is up to you.

I read somewhere that “Reputation is what others think you are; character is what God knows you are. And when your reputation and character are both blameless, you have integrity.”

Regis admitted to having temptation at first as to what to do with the money, based on the many counsels from sundry people. The telephone rang constantly, and she did not sleep for three full days, she said. The following Saturday, she cried all day.

That’s when she called on her pastor, Dr. Andre Sims, and a former co-worker, Luther Tucker. They both prayed with her and counseled her to do the right thing and turn over the money to the respective authorities.

“As much as I needed that money, I couldn’t keep it,” she said. “As parents, we set examples for our children, and we ought to take a stand for what is right. I will stand alone on that principle if I have to.”

I strongly believe that Regis has passed the honesty test with flying colors. And the big reward will present itself to her before long.

“I have no regrets. It feels good for it to be over and done away with. You can run, but you cannot hide,” she said.

A fair share of trials

The youngest of 11 children, this Wisconsin-born woman has had more than her fair share of trials in her short lifetime. She lost five of her siblings through tragic circumstances, most of them before she was an adult.

At 17 she got pregnant with her daughter, and two months later her mother died. She spent half her childhood homeless, she said, bouncing from one foster home to the next.

And despite her harsh way of life, this woman still finds time to give of herself unconditionally. She has been taking care of her mentally-disabled sister for the last 22 years, a decision that has caused her many potential suitors, she said.

Regis said that she’s yet to meet anybody with such level of gratitude like her sister. “She always tells me ‘thank you. I love you. You are nice,’ and so forth. Those kind words I take as my rewards daily.”

The many struggles over the years seem to have strengthened Regis’ ambition. She told a very touching story that as a child riding the school bus, she would get off the bus in front of a very beautiful house because she was too embarrassed to let her schoolmates know her real place of abode.

With a downturn economy pervading the country, she has come close to buying a house like the one still etched in the recesses of her mind or a reasonable ersatz, but she promised to work hard for her achievements.

She was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in human services with the University of Phoenix, but she was forced to curtail that dream a month ago because of the lack of funds for tuition.

The soon-to-be author lived in the Star Lake neighborhood of Federal Way for more than 12 years before moving to Fife, but she still attends church in Federal Way.

In an era when financial malfeasance has jacked up a few pulpits throughout the Pacific Northwest, it is indeed wonderful to hear the good news about Regis’ deed. As a Christian woman, she has brought back dignity to Christendom. Based on the myriad of blogs out there pertaining to this story, the Church is standing tall once more.

When asked what were the things that mattered most to her in life, the diminutive woman had me swigging hearty gulps from my vente white cappuccino with much delight.

“Money is not everything. The simple things in life are what bring me happiness – like the sun on my skin. Whenever I feel the sunrays on my skin, I feel as though God is hugging me,” she said, exuding a kind of grace and conviction that will far outlive any get-rich-quick scheme for the remainder of her life.