What Was Once Lost Now Was Found
When Ofelia Kirker lost her wedding rings in Santa Clara, NM in the 1960s, she and her husband, Robert, thought they were gone forever. Amazingly, the rings have now made their way back to the couple who are now in their 80s!
You see, Ofelia was famous for removing her rings when cooking – wrapping them in a tissue and placing them in her pocket. And there they would stay until she remembered to put them back on, despite frequent warnings from her husband.
‘I said be more careful with your rings or you’ll lose them,’ said Robert.
You can probably guess what happens next. One day, Ofelia reached into her pocket only to find it empty!
Searching High And Low
The last place Ofelia remembered having the rings in her pocket was at church. Retracing her steps, she ended up outside the home where she and Robert always parked on Sunday. Though she searched furiously, the search ended only in disappointment. The homeowner, Romana, told the distraught woman that she hoped the missing jewelry would turn up eventually.
Disheartened, Ofelia concluded the wedding bands must be lost. . . forever. She never replaced them, and life went on. The couple now resided roughly a hundred miles away from Santa Clara, NM in Las Cruces, NM. They’d abandoned all hopes of ever finding the rings.
Years after the rings went missing, Romana hired someone to clean her yard. Amazingly, the rings were uncovered!
Unfortunately, the Kirkers no longer lived in the area, and Romana had no idea how to contact them. It would have been easy enough to get rid of the jewelry. But sensing their importance, she instead put them in a small blue box and tucked them away. Many more years passed.
50 Years Later…
Then, a miracle happened. Romana's daughter, Edna, was going through her mom's home. She came across the small, blue box that puzzled her. She knew they didn't belong to her mother. She asked Romana about the box, and the now 90-year-old woman didn't miss a beat. After nearly 50 years, she immediately identified the rings as belonging to Ofelia Kirker.
With a little detective work, Edna was able to notify the Kirker's daughter-in-law who worked at the local grocery store, who in turn relayed the find to Ofelia. The Kirkers traveled to Santa Clara where they reunited with the rings that had been missing for half a century. The couple, who are about to celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary, are ecstatic.
“It feels like we’re getting married again,” says Robert.
Ofelia says it's unbelievable to have the rings back on her hand:
“They had been gone for so long. It’s wonderful to have them back.”
h/t: Huffington Post
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images
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