Lost and Found: A Ring Sparks Memories

As a contributing writer for OutLook by the Bay magazine, I have received many emails from the publisher, Jason Whong. The latest one was quite different. 

 Jason sent an email for me that had been forwarded to him at the magazine. I immediately recognized the sender’s name; Surprisingly enough, it was a former boyfriend who I had dated in 1961-62. We had parted ways amicably and I had not heard about him since then. Could this be, after 62 years? To verify the authenticity of this email, I responded with some questions that only he could answer … his dad’s full name and nickname, and his connection to my dad. To my amazement the answers were correct enough that I felt comfortable to respond. His return email clarified the situation – He was my old friend’s son! Sadly, his father had passed away and he was going through his effects when he found a high school ring with a date and my original initials. He simply wanted to return this ring to me.

The ring in question had been missing for 62 years and, quite frankly, I had forgotten about it. Initially, at an early high school reunion, I realized that the ring was missing and assumed that it was lost during one of the many moves my husband and I had made during his military career. This email jostled my memory and I recalled giving my friend my high school ring when he left for Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and I returned to college after completing my student teaching. Later, we stopped dating.

 After a series of emails, I learned a bit about my friend’s family and his productive and happy life. This pleased me very much. Judging from the emails, his son seemed to be a fine man as well. I also discovered how he found me. With technology at his fingertips, he located my high school yearbook picture (!) and matched the initials to my name. He then went on Facebook, found my profile and connection to OutLook by the Bay. Hence, the email to Jason. 

A week later, my long-lost ring arrived. It had been well taken care of and was as pretty as I remembered. Many fond memories of my friend and our time together came flooding back. 

When I have shared this series of events with family and friends, they all suggested that this remarkable story should be shared. I have to admit that the initial email was quite a shock and it still seems surreal at times. That ring was lost to me for 62 years and now has been found! I am so pleased that my friend’s son persisted in finding me and returning my ring. But the best part was finding out that an old friend had lived well.

Kathryn Marchi is a contributing writer to OutLook by the Bay. She especially enjoys writing human interest stories.