A woman who forgot her wallet after ordering food at McDonald’s was so grateful to an employee who paid for her meal that she published a tribute to him on Facebook — and now it’s gone viral.

Friday was a long day at work in the horse stables for Ohio woman Aundrea Duncan as she described in a post about her fateful trip to the fast food restaurant.

“I ordered my food but realised as I got to the window to pay, I had left my wallet at work,” Ms Duncan wrote.

So she told the “handsome young man” at the counter to cancel her order.

But that young man, Jeremiah McDonald-Hemphill, was having none of it.

“His response was ‘It’s OK, ma’am, I got you,’” Ms Duncan wrote.

“He then took his wallet out and paid for my meal.”

Ms Duncan was elated by the kind gesture.

“What an amazing young man,” she said.

“We hear so much about what’s wrong with the world. I had to share a little of what is right.”

The photo that accompanies Ms Duncan’s post shows Mr McDonald-Hemphill flashing a broad grin.

“I asked him if I could hug him and told him to keep being who he is because he is an amazing person,” she wrote.

“He didn’t know how tired I was or that I hadn’t eaten or even if he would be repaid, but he didn’t even bat an eye and just acted.”

‘I wanted to repay his kindness’

Ms Duncan said she took a few days to post the public thank you out of respect for Mr McDonald-Hemphill.

“I wanted his permission and I wanted to repay him for his kindness,” she wrote.

Hundreds of commenters have thanked the boy and thousands have shared Ms Duncan’s post.

“Young people like this gentleman give us hope for the future,” one comment read.

“What an awesome young man, his mom would be proud,” a second person added.

Sure enough, his mother replied.

“Thank each and everyone of you for the kind words in regards to my son,” Donna McDonald wrote.

“To God be the glory.”

Even the boy’s aunt weighed in on the Facebook love fest.

“Very proud of my nephew!!! Love you,” Marina Sanford Dozier wrote.

Ms Duncan told Yahoo Lifestyle she went back to McDonald’s on Saturday to pay Mr McDonald-Hemphill back — and to give him a big hug.

“[I told him] that if he hadn’t done that I probably would have just gone home and went to bed without eating,” she said.

“Before I left he gave me another hug.”

Ms Duncan said he even reached out to her when the viral Facebook post made its way to him.

She said she made the post public not only so the message of his kindness would spread far and wide, but so McDonald’s might give him some sort of recognition.

“His mum also reached out thanking me, which was nice because as a mum of two young men I wanted her to know what he did for me and that she is doing something right,” Ms Duncan said.

“As mums we all need to hear that.”