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Decades later, man is reunited with long-lost high school class ring
Decades later, man is reunited with long-lost
By Sarah Lehr
LOWELLVILLE
After it was stolen about 30 years ago, Eugene Caleris never thought he’d see his class ring again.
But recently, fate proved him wrong.
Back when he was a freshman at Lowellville High School, Caleris bought the ring with money he earned from odd jobs.
“I raked leaves and mowed lawns – that kind of thing,” Caleris remembered.
A few years later, the ring was taken during a burglary.
Caleris said he remembers identifying the ring and other stolen jewelry at the police station after officers apprehended the burglars. But somehow, wires were crossed and Caleris never ended up getting the ring back, he said.
This month, however, the ring was returned. A city worker, John Knicely, was cleaning out an abandoned building for demolition. There, Knicely found a Lowellville High School Class of
1983 ring in a desk.
The ring is engraved with the name “Eugene” and the initials “E.T.C.”
Knicely’s wife, Courtney, took to Facebook, hoping to find the original owner. Her post went viral.
“People were really receptive,” Courtney Knicely said. “I was thrilled with the response.”
Caleris now lives in Youngstown and is an automobile mechanic.
He hasn’t thought about the ring in years, he said.
“Most of my friends didn’t even know that I had this ring and that it was stolen – it happened so long ago,” Caleris said.
But soon thereafter, one of Caleris’ high-school buddies reached out to him, asking if Caleris had ever lost a class ring.
Caleris himself is not on Facebook, but said his experience left him impressed with the power of social media.
“I’m kind of in the stone age,” Caleris said with a laugh.
Courtney Knicely said she was “delighted” by the success of her post and even more delighted to find the ring’s owner.
“Life is strange sometimes,” she said. “It’s nice to know that things like this can happen.”
Caleris is still somewhat in shock about finding the ring again.
“I have no idea how it ended up in an old desk,” Caleris said. “I’d have to call it fate.”