Verona Woman Reunites With High School Ring 35 Years After She Lost It

A local woman has been reunited with her Verona High School class ring 35 years after she lost it.

And she has an honest couple and the Verona High School Alumni Association to thank for it.

Joe Davila of Sunset Avenue was raking leaves in his back yard the week of Thanksgiving when he came across a 1978 woman’s ring engraved with the initials "M.E.C."

Davila showed the ring to his wife, Erica, who reached out to the Verona High alumni group on www.vhsalumni.net.

A few hours and several email exchanges later, the owner was discovered: The dirty, slightly tarnished ring belonged to a Mary E. Corcoran.

Corcoran, who is still living in Verona in the house she grew up in, was soon reunited with her ring at the Davilas’ home. She presented the couple with flowers as a thank you, and they laughed over the story of the dreaded day more than three decades ago when a scared teenager lost her ring.

It was less than a week after the traditional ring ceremony. She and a few girlfriends were on the “other side of town,” cutting through a back yard when they heard loud barking and ran for their lives from an angry dog.

“In her haste, the ring went one way and she the other,” said Gail Sferrazza, publicist for the Verona High School Alumni Association. “She vaguely remembers the ring clinking to the ground, but knew it was a goner.”

But there’s a twist to this story.

Corcoran said her mother once found a class ring belonging to a student on Staten Island. But she had no luck locating the owner in part because the school, more than 20 miles away, did not have an alumni association.

Want to learn more about the VHS Alumni Association and reunite with old friends? Visit them online at http://vhsalumni.net or at their booth this Saturday at Fair in the Square.