Elizabeth Clark of Granite Falls, Wash., a 1953 Howard Payne University alumna, will be reunited Friday with the university class ring she lost 60 years ago. HPU officials will present the ring to Clark on July 4 while she is in Brownfield, Texas, (near Lubbock) for a family reunion.

Due to recent drought conditions, the ring was discovered this March at the bottom of Lake Nasworthy in San Angelo, Texas, by Lindsey Waddell of Buda, Texas, a student at Angelo State University. Clark’s daughter, Donna Clark-Love, is a 1978 HPU graduate. She relayed the story of how the ring went missing.

“When Dad got home from the Korean War, Mom and Dad began dating,” said Clark-Love. “One of their favorite dates was to go to the lake in San Angelo to picnic and wade in the water. When she lost her class ring in 1954, she was devastated because she had worked so hard to make it through college.”

According to Clark-Love, her mother was not encouraged to further her education after high school.

“She was told that she needed to stay home and work in the cotton fields,” said Clark-Love. “She paid her own way through college by working two jobs, while keeping up with her studies. She was the only one out of 16 kids who got a college degree and her ring symbolized her hard work. She is so proud to be an HPU graduate.”

Stephen Sullivan, director of alumni relations for the university, is looking forward to returning the ring to its owner.

“The thought of someone finding this ring after 60 years is just absolutely amazing,” he said. “The ring is still in great shape and we’re excited to have this opportunity to return it to Mrs. Clark. God is so great!”

Pictured above: 1953 HPU class ring, owned by Elizabeth Clark of Granite Falls, Washington, was recently discovered at the bottom of Lake Nasworthy in San Angelo. HPU will return the ring to Mrs. Clark on July 4 at a family reunion near Brownfield.