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Ring, owner reunited after 38 years

Lost grad ring returned to rightful owner after following Facebook posts

Sheldon Birnie By: Sheldon Birnie Posted:

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/07/2021 (1646 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For one Murdoch MacKay alumna, the story of a lost grad ring took 38 years to come full circle.
A member of the class of 1982, Teresa Popp — who was known as Teresa Enns in those days — was the first in her family to graduate high school. To commemorate the achievement, her parents bought her a grad ring with her initials (TDE) engraved inside.
“They weren’t wealthy, they both worked, so it was such an honour for me for them to buy me this ring,” Popp recalled. “I wore it full time. I almost lost it once while working at Wendy’s. The Christmas season of 1983, I was attending a Christmas party. I was wearing leather gloves, so I took off my ring in our bathroom and left it on our jewelry tree and went to the party.”
That evening, her younger brother had a party of his own at the family home. When Popp returned from her evening out, she was horrified to see that her ring and a few other pieces of jewelry were missing.
“I guess it was stolen,” said Popp, who moved to Windsor Park over 20 years ago. “My parents were upset (but) there wasn’t much we could do about it.”
Popp said her brother felt terrible, and questioned everyone at the party. But the ring did not turn up.
Not just yet, anyway.
In the early 1990s, Debbie Turnbull-Black’s daughter came home one day with a Murdoch MacKay grad ring she’d found on the ground.
“I really didn’t know what to do with it at the time,” Turnbull-Black, a lifelong Transcona resident, said. “This was back before computers. I called the school, but they didn’t have records going back that far.”
So, Turnbull-Black tucked the ring away, determined to keep trying to find the owner. A couple of house moves (and decades) later, she began posting on Murdoch MacKay community Facebook groups about the ring.
“But I didn’t get any response,” she said.
With grad season coming up again this spring, Turnbull-Black decided to cast a wider net and try posting on the Transcona … And Proud of It community group on Facebook. 
“I figured, if anyone would know, they would be on there,” she said. “I included the inscription, but covered the stone, so they would have to tell me what colour it was to identify it.”
The post caught the attention of Kim Delorme Enns, the administrator of the group.
“I said to my husband, ‘Did you see the grad ring posted?’” said Enns, who is married to Popp’s younger brother. “I said ‘I think the year your sister graduated?’ He asked if there were initials in it and I said yes.”
“The next thing I know, Kim sends me this picture,” Popp said. “She had the stone covered, but as soon as I saw it, I knew it was the ring.”
Popp told Enns that the stone was brown, and Enns contacted Turnbull-Black to confirm.
“As far as I know, my brother and Kim went right that day to pick it up,” Popp said. “Then Kim messaged me and asked me to come out to the driveway. My brother said ‘I just wanted to bring it to you myself.’ He didn’t want to lose it again!”
The reunion was both exciting and emotional, Popp added.
“Things like this don’t usually happen,” she said. “My daughter was absolutely thrilled. She loves a good story. My dad passed in January, but my mom is still alive, but I told her the story. Much thanks to Debbie and Kim for getting this ring back.”

For one Murdoch MacKay alumna, the story of a lost grad ring took 38 years to come full circle.

A member of the class of 1982, Teresa Popp — who was known as Teresa Enns in those days — was the first in her family to graduate high school. To commemorate the achievement, her parents bought her a grad ring with her initials (TDE) engraved inside.

Supplied photo Teresa Popp, from Murdoch MacKay Collegiate’s Class of 1982, lost her grad ring in 1983. It was returned to her earlier this spring, 38 years later.
Supplied photo Teresa Popp, from Murdoch MacKay Collegiate’s Class of 1982, lost her grad ring in 1983. It was returned to her earlier this spring, 38 years later.

“They weren’t wealthy, they both worked, so it was such an honour for me for them to buy me this ring,” Popp recalled. “I wore it full time. I almost lost it once while working at Wendy’s. The Christmas season of 1983, I was attending a Christmas party. I was wearing leather gloves, so I took off my ring in our bathroom and left it on our jewelry tree and went to the party.”

That evening, her younger brother had a party of his own at the family home. When Popp returned from her evening out, she was horrified to see that her ring and a few other pieces of jewelry were missing.

“I guess it was stolen,” said Popp, who moved to Windsor Park over 20 years ago. “My parents were upset (but) there wasn’t much we could do about it.”

Popp said her brother felt terrible, and questioned everyone at the party. But the ring did not turn up.

Not just yet, anyway.

In the early 1990s, Debbie Turnbull-Black’s daughter came home one day with a Murdoch MacKay grad ring she’d found on the ground.

“I really didn’t know what to do with it at the time,” Turnbull-Black, a lifelong Transcona resident, said. “This was back before computers. I called the school, but they didn’t have records going back that far.”

So, Turnbull-Black tucked the ring away, determined to keep trying to find the owner. A couple of house moves (and decades) later, she began posting on Murdoch MacKay community Facebook groups about the ring.

“But I didn’t get any response,” she said.

With grad season coming up again this spring, Turnbull-Black decided to cast a wider net and try posting on the Transcona … And Proud of It community group on Facebook. 

“I figured, if anyone would know, they would be on there,” she said. “I included the inscription, but covered the stone, so they would have to tell me what colour it was to identify it.”

Supplied photo Teresa Popp’s Murdoch MacKay Collegiate Class of 1982 grad ring disappeared in 1983. It was returned to her earlier this spring, 38 years later, after posts on social media alerted her sister-in-law that it may have been found.
Supplied photo Teresa Popp’s Murdoch MacKay Collegiate Class of 1982 grad ring disappeared in 1983. It was returned to her earlier this spring, 38 years later, after posts on social media alerted her sister-in-law that it may have been found.

The post caught the attention of Kim Delorme Enns, the administrator of the group.

“I said to my husband, ‘Did you see the grad ring posted?’” said Enns, who is married to Popp’s younger brother. “I said ‘I think the year your sister graduated?’ He asked if there were initials in it and I said yes.”

“The next thing I know, Kim sends me this picture,” Popp said. “She had the stone covered, but as soon as I saw it, I knew it was the ring.”

Popp told Enns that the stone was brown, and Enns contacted Turnbull-Black to confirm.

“As far as I know, my brother and Kim went right that day to pick it up,” Popp said. “Then Kim messaged me and asked me to come out to the driveway. My brother said ‘I just wanted to bring it to you myself.’ He didn’t want to lose it again!”

The reunion was both exciting and emotional, Popp added.

“Things like this don’t usually happen,” she said. “My daughter was absolutely thrilled. She loves a good story. My dad passed in January, but my mom is still alive, but I told her the story. Much thanks to Debbie and Kim for getting this ring back.”

Sheldon Birnie

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112

   Read full biography

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Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

Sheldon Birnie

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112

   Read full biography

Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.

Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

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