Could it be that the US telecom company, Verizon, archives all the old greetings and messages that go on clients’ voicemail boxes? I’d not be surprised if all the phone companies with the capabilities did this. An even more interesting question is, “if I delete a voicemail, is it still archived?”

From the Associated Press, via a March 19th FoxNews.com article, comes the feel-good story about an old man’s stolen memories that were restored by the venerable, neighborly phone company:

Lost Voicemail of Man’s Dead Wife Restored by Phone Company

IRVINGTON, N.Y. — An 80-year-old man who thought he’d lost the only recording of his dead wife’s voice can hear her again, any time he wants. When Verizon upgraded Charles Whiting’s telephone service, his wife’s voice, saying, “Catherine Whiting,” disappeared from his voicemail system.

She had died in 2005 and Whiting said he listened to her voice every day for comfort. He blamed Verizon for the loss, saying, “Now they took her voice away.”

But Verizon had archived all the old greetings and messages. Company spokesman John Bonomo said Tuesday that a contractor found the recording and restored it to the new voicemail system.

“I’m glad they rescued it,” Whiting said. “I’m very happy.”