Lost 1963 high school ring soon to be reunited with owner
Published: December 21, 2005
After losing his 1963 Colonial Heights High School class ring more than 40 years ago, James R. Lewis had pretty much given up hope of ever finding the brilliant, blue-stoned keepsake.
He would go on to graduate high school (sans ring), join the United States Air Force and travel the world. Little did he know that, meanwhile, his precious ring had never strayed far from the Tri-City area.
Lewis’ ring disappeared in 1962 when he was working part-time for a refrigerator repair service. While on the job at a Petersburg convenience store, he took off his ring and placed in it his shirt pocket for what he thought was safe keeping.
“I forgot about it,” said Lewis, now age 61, retired and living in Panama City, Fla. When he went to retrieve the ring, it was gone.
The story then fast forwards to September 1998, when a Sherwood Hills resident spotted something shiny in her gutter. Despite being covered in mud, the unmistakable “CH” carved in the side told her what it was. The ring was handed over to police with the only clue to its ownership being the initials “JRL” engraved inside.
After a search of high school records, police discovered it belonged to Lewis. However, all leads to him turned up negative.
“I tried to hunt him down, and it came to a cold end,” said Colonial Heights police Lt. Wayne Newsome. “I just couldn’t run him down, but somehow it all fell into place.”
In October, after seven years of going unclaimed, the ring was slated to be destroyed per state law. Police decided to make one last effort to find Lewis, this time locating one of his fellow classmates who knew how to contact him.
Now, the ring is packed up and ready to be shipped to Panama City. It was recently restored by a local jeweler.
“It was quite a shock that someone found it and turned it in,” Lewis said. “How it got back to Colonial Heights [from Petersburg] is a mystery to me.”
Even though he hasn’t returned to his hometown for 15 years - Lewis has no remaining family in Colonial Heights - he says he’ll proudly wear his long-lost ring.
He sends best wishes to his classmates from the Class of 1963.
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