VIRGINIA – A 77-year-old man’s daughter will soon drive to Virginia to return a class ring that he lost nearly 60 years ago.
The 1960 ring belonged to William Joseph Wadel, 77.
William Joseph Wadel has Luke Berube to thank for returning the 1960 class ring that he recently found in a Massachusetts pond
Berube is used to digging up old trinkets with his metal detector, and when he found the 10-carat ring, he decided to seek out its rightful owner and return it.
“Because there were identifying marks on it, that’s the biggest reason why I wanted to push to get it back to somebody,” Berube told CNN. “Many times I’ll find a typical men’s wedding band with no markings on it. Those are next to impossible to return to the owner.”
After some internet research when he returned home on Saturday, he found out the 10-carat ring turned out to be from the former Gate of Heaven High School in South Boston.
Berube found a Facebook group for Gate of Heaven alumni and attempted to join. When he explained that he was trying to return the ring, a moderator allowed him to join and post about the lost ring.
Wadel had given the ring to his girlfriend at the time nearly 60 years ago. She lost the ring, and he figured it was gone forever.
Wadel’s daughter, Christine, saw Berube’s Facebook post and contacted him. She showed Berube pictures of her dad when he was in high school, as well as his high school diploma.
“That’s evidence enough for me,” Berube said.
“I called my Dad and said ‘Dad, could this be yours?” Christine Wadel told CNN affiliate WBZ. “And he says ‘yeah.’ And I said ‘You lost a ring?’ And he said ‘Yes!'”
“He was like, shocked!”
Berube has been scuba diving for about 12 to 13 years. He started bringing a metal detector with him about four years ago.
To date, he’s amassed more than 100 rings in his collection.
But this one, he says, was “special.”
