A tale of the Lemoore High class ring, once lost, is found

By Ed Martin, The Leader Editor
Don and Faye Ely with Jawanza William's 1991 class ring, lost for 20 years and recently returned.
Don and Faye Ely with Jawanza William's 1991 class ring, lost for 20 years and recently returned.

Christmas came a little early for Joe Williams. The 1991 Lemoore High School graduate, whose full name is Jawanza, now a resident of Tempe, Arizona, recently became the proud recipient of a class ring, and not just any class ring.

Turns out this special ring has had quite the journey, from the hallowed halls of Lemoore High, to a basketball court in Cerritos, a sojourn to Mexico, and finally to its current resting place in Tempe, Arizona, where it is ensconced safely on the finger of the former LHS grad.

A close up of the long lost ring.
A close up of the long lost ring.

This was the same class ring Williams purchased back in 1991, which at the time came with a hefty price tag of $400. Turns out, on a warm summer day in 1993 in Cerritos, California, while playing basketball with friends, Joe lost his 10-carot gold ring, and didn’t see it again – until recently.

A few months ago, a retired former probation officer Don Ely, and his wife Faye, currently living the good life in retirement in Baja, California, in Mexico, were planning a trip to Thailand, Faye’s childhood home, and were rummaging through her jewelry box and came across a class ring. Little was known of it other than Faye mentioning that her children found the ring about 15 years ago, and she wasn’t quite sure where it was found.

“My wife and I were sitting around the dining table after breakfast and discussing our return to Thailand,” said Ely. “My wife mentioned that she would like to give some of her Thai ear rings to her relatives upon or return to Thailand. She brought her jewelry box out and was showing me some of the ear rings and I noticed a class ring mixed in with the ear rings.”

Upon closer inspection Ely discovered a manufacturer (Jostens) and a name, Jawanza A. Willliams. Realizing there may be an opportunity to find the owner, Ely and Faye contacted Jostens, who because of the age of the ring, couldn’t provide much help.

Then, despite poor connections from Mexico, Ely got through to Lemoore High School and explained his quest to find the rightful owner of the ring. The inquiry was forwarded to me. I contacted Ely via email and learned he had a ring belonging to a Jawanza Williams, class of 1991. As president of the Lemoore Union High School Foundation I attempted to locate Williams.  The Foundation possesses a complete data base of all our alumni, but unfortunately, because alums don’t always stay in the same place, we don’t always have up-to-date information as to their whereabouts.

We did send out an email to over 6,000 alums asking for any information regarding Jawanza. We didn’t get much response, but one of Jawanza’s fellow classmates and friends, Mary Jane Abella, saw the email and contacted Joe. Joe quickly contacted me, and the rest is history.

“I lost the ring in Cerritos, California in 1993,” recalled Williams. “We were playing basketball and it was way too loose. I handed it to a friend’s cousin and he placed it on the ground.”

Unfortunately, following the game, they returned home and upon returning Williams asked for the ring and it was nowhere to be found. They returned to the site of the basketball game and by that time it was gone.

“I just figured it was gone forever,” Williams said. “I thought that maybe somebody took it to a pawn shop and sold it. I’ve thought about it a lot since then.”

When his friend Abella, contacted his via Facebook, Williams was shocked. “Is this some kind of joke or something,” he wondered? “I then contacted the school.”

I explained to Williams that Don and Faye Ely had his ring, found about 15 years ago and wanted to return it to him. I gave Williams their email and phone number and he immediately contacted Ely, and made arrangements to return the ring

“I did talk with him on the phone,” said Williams who because he was living in Arizona, arranged from a friend, Paul Tran, to  drive to Los Angeles International Airport, meet up with the Elys  and retrieve the much-traveled ring. On a visit to his friend, Williams drove to Orange County and picked up a ring he hadn’t seen for 20 years.

Williams, 40, entered Lemoore High School as a sophomore. His father, Ernest Williams and wife Toshie, still live in Lemoore. Ernest is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. Williams joined the Navy right out of high school and left the service in 1997. He currently works as a dental clinic manager in Tempe.

During his search for the ring’s owner, Ely, native of Long Beach, California, hadn’t even heard of Lemoore. “I didn’t have the slightest idea of where Lemoore was,” he said. “I used Skype to call Lemoore but there was never a clean connection. Finally, I made a good connection and the lady in the office was able to understand my story and my need for help.”

After speaking with Williams, the two agreed to transfer the ring at LAX, while Ely and his wife would transfer en-route to Thailand where Ely was to get hip-replacement surgery. They were hesitant to mail the ring, because of unreliable service in Mexico.

The two met Williams’s friend, Paul Tran, at LAX and gave him the ring.

Ely retired following a 30-year career working as a probation officer in Probation Camps within Los Angeles County. The Vietnam veteran also served in the submarine service and earned a degree from California State Long Beach before starting his career as a probation officer. He met his wife Faye 13 years ago. She was a nurse in the L.A. County probation system.

As for Williams, he’s not taking any chances again. He recently returned from a trip to Japan where he visited friends. To be safe, he left the ring locked up in his Arizona home.

Comments powered by Disqus