A Christmas tree farmer has found and returned a wedding ring that slipped off a New Jersey man’s finger roughly 15 years ago.
David Penner lost the ring during a visit with his wife to Wyckoff’s Tree Farm in White Township. He returned and searched, but the ring was nowhere to be found.
“I thought it was a miracle,” Penner said of the farmer’s find.
John Wyckoff, a third-generation tree farmer, told NJ.com he was riding on the back of a tractor sticking trees in the ground in April when he spotted something shiny in the soil. He sifted the dirt and found the wedding band. An NJ.com report on the discovery last week spurred a call from Penner’s sister-in-law, who connected the two men.
“I got probably about half a dozen emails of people trying to give me leads,” Wyckoff said. “One was right on.”
Wyckoff invited Penner into his house to see the ring. Penner knew the date within the band, which Wyckoff had withheld when sharing the story. But Wyckoff asked for a wedding certificate as well. The 68-year-old Penner, of Liberty Township, offered to show ID, but Wyckoff insisted.
“That’s no problem,” Penner remembered saying. He went to the bank Monday to get the certificate.
The reunion was bittersweet for Penner, who lost his wife of 42 years when she died at age 67 in September.
“This was a piece to come back to me, in her absence,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Could it be a Christmas present from your wife?
What a beautiful story, just he set warming and badly needed in today’s society of uncertainly of humanity left in our society that is not driven by greed, political power, and personal gain. I would like to thank the author, who made my day and life happier restoring my faith in people. God Bless that farmer most of all, and of course the widower.
Such a sweet story……………. See folks, Miracles still happen……………. Bless Mr. Penner and
Mr. Wyckoff……………. God is good………. Merry Christmas to both….
I concur. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL
GOD BLESS
That was very nice of him because in northern new jersey not only they will rip the ring off your hand and if you are lucky they dont cut you finger off in order to steal it. I have seen a teenager jump and old guy and rip the chain off his neck. Thats normal for that area
I grew up in North Jersey and in 68 yrs of my life I haven’t seen this happen !!!!
Please disregard this comment it was posted in error to the wrong story