Wedding ring returned to woman after more than 40 years

A man used the wedding ring’s inscription to return it to a woman who has lost it four decades earlier.

The gold band had belonged to the late husband of 74-year-old Catherine Zenkus, who was to reclaim the ring Friday in a ceremony.

"I just cried ... because my husband is dead 18 years," said Zenkus. "I was just shocked."

The ring turned up in 2001 behind a heater in what is now John Fanuka's home. Noting the inscription - "Kitty to Johnny - 3/31/51" - Fanuka consulted neighbors, searched online and phoned previous owners of the home.

But he was stumped until the recent arrival of a piece of junk mail addressed to Kitty Zenkus.

"I hadn't looked at the ring in five years ... and I ran upstairs and sure enough, it was Kitty," he said.

An Internet search quickly led him to Zenkus, who said she and her family moved out of the house 30 years ago.

Zenkus said the couple's toddler son, Anthony, had hidden the ring during the early years of their marriage.