A wife and mom in Wisconsin received an unforgettable Christmas surprise: the wedding ring she thought was gone forever — missing for more than 48 years.
Lori Vosters and her husband, Dan, married in February 1977 in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Just seven months later, Lori realized her ring had vanished.
“We were harvesting our carrots and after I brought them into the house and started cleaning them, I realized my ring was gone,” Lori told WBAY TV-2.
Lori searched for hours but eventually gave up hope. Decades later, Dan and their son, Jesse, decided the story didn’t have to end that way. On Wednesday, Sept. 24, the two headed into the backyard with metal detectors, shovels, and a lot of patience. After hours of searching, they got a hit — nearly 50 years after it disappeared, the ring surfaced on the tip of a shovel.
But instead of rushing inside to share the news, Dan and Jesse chose to turn the recovery into a moment Lori would never forget.
“First thing he says is, ‘We’re going to keep this quiet, don’t tell Ma, and we’ll give it to her for Christmas,’” Dan said of his conversation with Jesse after finding it. “It’ll be a big secret.”
They tucked the ring into an envelope and wrote the date it was found, who it was from, and “St. Anthony,” the patron saint of lost items. Then they slipped the envelope into an old candy box and wrapped it up.
When Lori opened the gift with her family, she initially assumed it was something else — she even thought it might be tickets for The Wizard of Oz at The Sphere in Las Vegas, since she’d mentioned wanting to go.
Instead, she got something far more personal.
“You found my ring?!,” Lori exclaimed. “Oh my God!”
Thanks to the determination of her husband and son, Lori was finally able to wear her wedding ring during the holidays — a first since it went missing. Next month, she and Dan will celebrate their 49th wedding anniversary with rings on both their fingers once again.
