For nearly six decades, a ring sat quietly in a box, carried from California to Africa and eventually back to the United States. The ring belonged to Lynn Sherrod, a graduate of Lubbock Christian College, and nearly 60 years later, it found its way back to him just months before his death.
The story began in the early 1960s, when Sherrod, Class of 1960, attended a biology conference at the University of California, Davis. Somewhere during the conference, he lost his Lubbock Christian College class ring in a campus restroom. He retraced his steps and searched for it, but the ring was gone.
A young man named John Michael Stroble discovered the ring on the UC Davis campus. The exact circumstances of his visit are unclear, but he placed the ring in a box and told his parents he wanted to find its owner and return it someday. He would never have the opportunity to keep that promise, however, as he died in a sailing accident at age 26.
The box remained with his family. John Michael’s parents were missionaries in Jordan, and the ring eventually traveled with them to Africa. Several years ago, after his father’s death, his mother gave the box to John Michael’s brother, who is married to Kelly Stroble. Kelly knew little about the ring’s owner, only the university name, the initials “L.S.” engraved inside and the year 1960. Still, she felt a responsibility to finish what John Michael had started.
In 2021, Kelly reached out through Facebook to Lubbock Christian University’s alumni office, hoping someone could identify the owner. Her message came during a period of staff transition and initially went unnoticed. When the message was later rediscovered, the search began. With a graduation year and two initials as clues, the alumni director searched yearbooks and alumni records until one name emerged as the likely owner.
Lynn Sherrod.
When the alumni office contacted Sherrod, he initially misunderstood the reason for the call and humbly replied, “I am too old to buy another class ring.” When he learned that his original ring had actually been found, his response was simple.
“I would love to have it back.”
In the spring of 2023, after nearly 60 years, the ring returned to Sherrod.
By then, the ring represented far more than a piece of jewelry from his college years. It was a tangible reminder of where his academic journey had begun and of the path that followed.
Born in 1940, Sherrod grew up on his family’s farm outside Levelland, Texas. As a young man, he showed Duroc pigs through the local FFA and developed a deep interest in farming and nature. That curiosity eventually led him to pursue higher education and explore a world far beyond the farm.
After high school, Sherrod attended Lubbock Christian College and graduated with a General Science degree in 1960. He continued his education at Texas Tech University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1963 and a master’s degree in 1965, followed by a Ph.D. in botany from Oregon State University in 1968. He completed postdoctoral work in Germany before beginning a career centered on biology, research, environmental preservation, and teaching.
Sherrod eventually returned to Lubbock, where he and his wife, Marjorie, raised their family for several years before moving to Tyler in 1975. He taught biology at Lubbock Christian University and later at Texas Eastern University, which became the University of Texas at Tyler. Lynn earned the title of Professor Emeritus of Biology and was honored to serve as the Dean of Sciences and Mathematics for the majority of his tenure at UT Tyler until he retired in 2006.
His passion for learning and exploration continued throughout his career. He traveled to remote locations and coordinated educational trips for students to Central and South America, including the Amazon Rainforest and the Galapagos Islands. He also participated in international sister-city partnerships and remained committed to sharing his knowledge of nature and environmental preservation with others.
That lifelong curiosity had its beginnings in part at Lubbock Christian, where Sherrod’s interest in science was nurtured early in his academic journey. His family later honored that legacy through a contribution to the Ling Science Building, creating a connection between his story and the students who continue to discover their own interests in science at LCU.
When Sherrod received his ring in 2023, he placed it in his safe. He did not intend to wear it again, but he treasured having it back. After all those years, a meaningful piece of his past had returned to him, thanks to a family he had never met, and a promise made by a young man who never had the opportunity to keep it himself.
Just months later, in September 2023, Sherrod died in Tyler at age 83.
The timing of the ring’s return makes the story especially poignant. A symbol of Sherrod’s college years had come home shortly before his life came to an end, completing a story that began with a young man losing his ring and another young man deciding it was worth keeping until its owner could be found.
The ring also became a quiet tribute to John Michael Stroble, whose simple act of honesty endured long after his own life was cut short. His family carried the ring and the intention behind it for decades, until Kelly finally found the person whose initials were engraved inside.
What began as a lost class ring became a story about integrity, persistence, and the connections that can endure across generations. It connected two families who had never known one another and brought Lynn Sherrod one final reminder of the university where his journey began.
Sometimes, something lost is not forgotten. It simply takes a very long time to find its way home.