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North Dakota girl, 7, finds high school class ring missing for 39 years

By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Ring found A 7-year-old girl found a high school ring that belonged to a man who died nearly five years ago and had been lost since 1982. (Tobntno/iStock )

By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

BISMARCK, N.D. — A 7-year-old girl camping with her family for the Memorial Day weekend found a cherished memory for a North Dakota woman.

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Isadora Rose, of Bismarck, found a 1982 high school class ring that belonged to the late husband of McClusky resident Cheryl Reile Helm, KFYR reported.

Isadora was playing near the shore of New Johns Lake when she found the ring.

“I saw something shiny in the water so I reached down to pick it up and I saw a ring,” the girl told KFYR.

Isadora’s mother posted a photo of the ring on Facebook, and it came to the attention of Helm, who had never seen it before. The ring was engraved and was from the McClusky High School Class of 1982, where her husband, Kerry “Helmster” Helm attended school.

“I opened up my Facebook page and I saw all these messages from his buddies, his classmates,” Cheryl Helm told KFYR. “They kept telling me, ‘That’s his ring.’”

Helm said she was told the ring may have slipped off her husband’s finger during a senior week celebration at the lake, the television station reported. It was an emotional reunion for her.

“So it’s just like, he was with me, he’s with me,” Helm told KFYR.

Kerry Helm was 52 when he died at his home on Oct. 22, 2016. According to his obituary, he was a 1982 graduate of McClusky High School and attended the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, where he studied heating and cooling.

He worked at Bismarck Heating and Cooling, Turtle Lake Community Hospital and Ramkota Hotel, according to his obituary. He also worked at Helm’s Tavern and drove a bus for the McClusky School District.

Kerry and Cheryl Helm were married on Sept. 11, 2000, in McClusky.

Finding a piece of jewelry that was a connection to her husband was an emotional day for Helm. She met with Isadora and her mother and verified that the ring belonged to her husband.

“Oh my goodness,” she said as she held the ring, KFYR reported.

“Thank you very much, sweetheart,” Helm told Isadora when they met. “I know his parents will love it, too.”

Cheryl Helm told KFYR she plans to show the ring to her in-laws. She also will put it in a case with other memorabilia he enjoyed, the television station reported.

“I went to New Johns Lake to see if this really was Kerry’s class ring,” Helm wrote on Facebook. “It is his. His initials are on it. This is so crazy. Thanks to a little young lady, we have a piece of him.”


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