A retired NYPD cop whose high-school ring was stolen more than 40 years ago was shocked to see the keepsake again — in a package mailed to his doorstep from a Greek island he’d never heard of.
Stan Ostapiak, 69, hadn’t seen his 1962 Seward Park HS class ring since it was swiped at his Queens wedding reception in 1972.
“It was just total shock,” Ostapiak told The Post from his Staten Island living room Monday.
“I’d had never been to Greece. I’d really like to know how it got there.”
He was going through his late father’s belongings when he found the ring, which was engraved with the “S.J.O.”
Polyretis had no idea how his father had come across the ring, but he wanted to do the right thing by S.J.O.
He decided to do some detective work and contacted the school’s alumni president, Martin Kane.
Two weeks ago, Kane, reached out to Ostapiak and his wife, Elaine, telling them the ring was found more than 5,000 miles away.
“It’s the only thing I had left from high school,” Stan said about the bling.
“I was disappointed. I had no prom. That’s all I had.”
The Grecian “ring bearer” packed up the long-lost keepsake after hearing from Kane, and mailed it out.
“We’re just happy to have it back!” said Ostapiak’s wife, Elaine.
“We couldn’t believe it, almost 42 years later. It’s going to make for a memorable anniversary in October.”
She had kept the memento on her key chain.
But at their wedding in the fall of 1972, her purse was stolen — with Stan’s class ring inside.
“I was very upset because that was my husband’s ring that he had given to me and it signified so much,” Elaine said.
Now that the ring is finally back, Stan can restore it to it’s rightful place, he noted with a wink.
“I’ll give it back to my wife,” he said.“I’ll ask her to go steady with me again.”
The couple e-mailed Polyretis in Greece to thank him, and said they would send a copy of The Post showcasing his good deed.
“We’re just incredibly thankful for his efforts. This couldn’t have been possible without him,” Stan said.