Good news: lost rings, honest finder, happy coincidence
Published: October 27, 2005
This is a good-news story about lost rings from a marriage of 63 years and an honest finder and a happy coincidence.
Early last week, Wanda Maloney, 84, lost her wedding ring and attached diamond engagement ring. She noticed they were missing as she went out to dinner with her son and his family at Fitch’s Chophouse, 5957 McKee Road, Fitchburg.
She felt terrible. Her husband, James, died in January. They would have celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary next month.
“I was so anxious to get it back, because I missed it so,” she said.
She searched her home and called the places she’d been. No luck.
On Friday morning, Darren Schauf, 39, wanted a cup of coffee and decided to walk from his job at Glacier Consulting Group, a small market research firm, to nearby Barriques Market, which is adjacent to Fitch’s.
He spotted the rings, a bit battered, in a parking spot by the restaurant’s front door. He tucked them in his pocket.
On Friday afternoon, Maloney called Capital Newspapers to buy a classified ad seeking her lost rings. About 10 minutes later, Schauf called to place a found ad.
Arlene Staff, a customer service representative, happened to answer both calls and put lost and found together. Maloney described her rings to Schauf and drove right over to his office.
“It was my miracle for the day,” she said. “I was very fortunate. It shows there are good people left in the world.”
Her fingers are thinner than they used to be, and she thinks the rings slipped off when she reached down to grab her seat belt, then fell out when she opened the car door.
Schauf, 39, a husband of two years who always wears his own ring, refused the reward Maloney offered.
So, on Tuesday, Maloney returned to his office, wearing her resized and repolished rings and bearing a box of homemade oatmeal, date, raisin, walnut and chocolate chip cookies for Schauf.
“It made me feel good,” he said.
If you enjoyed this good news Subscribe to Good News Blog
Share this
To share this simply copy and paste one of the below URL's: