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OGDEN — Kathy Budrow lost her Bonneville High School ring nearly 45 years ago. It was recently found in the principal's office.
For her family, the ring is bringing back fond memories of a mother and sister who died nearly 30 years ago.
Bruce Budrow remembers when his sister lost her ring. "The family couldn't afford a new one,” he said. “We always talked about it." He believes she lost it during her senior year.
For about a year and a half, Art Hansen has been principal at Bonneville High School. Last week, he decided to clean out his desk, and in a drawer he found a pile of school pins and a class ring. On one side of the ring was the year 1967, and on the inside was the name K.R. Budrow.
Every time I talk about it, it brings smiles to my face, just unbelievably warm feelings.
–- Bruce Budrow
Hansen said he needed to find the home of the family, so he went to his part-time secretary, Nick Porter. "I said, ‘Nick, before the day's over, I'd like you to be able to find the person behind this ring,'" Hansen recalled.
Porter poured over old transcripts and eventually found Bruce Budrow’s phone number on the Internet.
"I get this phone call from Bonneville High School," he recalled, "and I'm like, 'Why would Bonneville High School be calling me?'"
“It was heartwarming,” Porter said of the conversation he had with Budrow. “It was a great feeling.”
Bruce Budrow is happy that the ring is back with the family. "Every time I talk about it, it brings smiles to my face, just unbelievably warm feelings," he said.
Kathy Budrow was a single mother of two who was hit by a car while jogging on Harrison Boulevard in 1983. Her brother said the ring has somehow brought him closure — something he never had until now.
"When Kathy died, I wasn't able to show my emotions,” he said, “but once I got the ring, I took it and went up to the gravesites and had a good talk with my Mom and Dad and Kathy up there."
Which is why he said this is about more than jewelry — it's a once lost and now cherished family memory. “The ring finally made it home,” he said.
Kathy's son was 13 and her daughter 3 when she died. Bruce Budrow said he would like the ring to eventually end up with one of them, however, he said both still have a tough time handling the loss of their mother.
Email: manderson@ksl.com
