For 67 years, the wedding ring never left her hand.
Well, to be exact, it was off for several seconds, but just once. That was more than a decade ago, when her husband died. She slipped off her ring, put his band onto her ring finger, then slid hers back into place. Though the couple could no longer be together on this earth, the symbols of their love could.
Until last week.
The widow, semi-conscious and near death, went into a nursing home last week. There, in the wee hours, someone yanked on her bony finger and plucked off her beloved wedding ring.
?It is horrible,? says her 57-year-old daughter. ?You can?t get any lower than that.?
The husband and wife were born and raised in Peoria. A year after World War II, where he served in the Army Air Corps, they got married. At the ceremony, she put a simple band onto his ring finger. Onto hers he placed a much more elaborate set: an engagement ring and wedding band ? a melding of platinum and white gold ? crowned with a one-carat square diamond, surrounded by smaller diamonds.
Over the decades, as they worked, raised two daughters and retired, the rings never left their hands. When he died at age 77 in 2002, she transferred his band onto her ring finger. She put hers on after his, to make sure the wider ring wouldn?t fall off.
Two years ago, she got sick and weak. To recuperate, she spent a short stint at Heartland Health Care Center, 5600 N. Glen Elm Drive, which has rehab and nursing facilities. Her daughter would spend the day there, and they got to know and appreciate the staff.
The mother recovered and went home, enjoying good health until early last week. Beset by dementia and poor health, she was checked into Heartland on Sept. 30. The next day, she suffered a stroke, and her health began to falter fast.
She doesn?t have much time left. Just like the last time at Heartland, her daughter has sat by her side all day. The mother isn?t coherent much. But her daughter likes to keep her company anyway.
Last Tuesday, during one of many long stretches of quietude, the daughter stared at the rings ? her dad?s and mom?s ? on her mother?s hand. She thought about taking them off, to take them home for safekeeping. But the rings were on pretty tight.
?They wouldn?t have come off easily, unless I were to soap them up,? her daughter says.
She didn?t want to do something like that. Imagine her mother regaining consciousness, only to see her daughter ripping her rings away. So the daughter left the rings and headed home late that night, about 11:30 p.m.
She returned about noon the next day. She glanced at her unconscious mother?s ring finger. The plain male wedding band remained. But her mother?s diamond ring had vanished.
?It hadn?t been off in 67 years,? the daughter said, glumly.
She decided to ask questions. Her mother had no roommate. So the daughter interrogated the staff, who said the ring was there at half-past midnight. After that? No one is sure.
The daughter doubts her mother would?ve noticed anyone coming into the room or even snatching off the ring.
?She?s not lucid enough,? the daughter says. ?She doesn?t know.?
The daughter isn?t sure of the value of the ring ? probably thousands of dollars. But the money isn?t the big thing to her. Rather, she and her older sister ? to whom the mother had pledged the rings ? won?t have a lot of keepsakes from their parents.
?That?s all she?s got,? the daughter says. ?She doesn?t have a fancy house. We have good memories. But there are just a few things of hers we?ll keep.?
The daughter has alerted police and pawn shops. Meanwhile, Heartland is reviewing security tapes for clues.
?I?m not mad at Heartland,? she says. ?They?ve been good to us.?
Carol Williams, administrator at Heartland, declined to comment on any investigation. ?But I can say that we work with police in those kinds of situations, and we?re looking into this,? she says.
The daughter doubts a resident took the ring, and she has thought of confronting the overnight crew.
?Everybody there knows who we are,? the daughter says. ?I think that?s why it hurts so bad.?
Meanwhile, she keeps up her long, daily visits. Her mother now has a roommate, who looks after the oft-still mother. Still, the daughter now feels a little skittish when she leaves at night.
?When I go home, I talk to the staff,? the daughter says. ?I say, ?Please keep a close eye on her.??
She doesn?t know what else to do, except to hope things work out for the best.
?I really doubt we?ll ever see the ring again,? the daughter says. ?But I hope so.?
PHIL LUCIANO is a Journal Star columnist. He can be reached at pluciano@pjstar.com, facebook.com/philluciano, 686-3155 or (800) 225- 5757, Ext. 3155. Follow him on Twitter @LucianoPhil.
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