A Red Deer woman who recently lost her late mother’s ring says it wasn’t just a piece of jewelry; it was a part of her heart.
Janie Toivanen said she believes the beloved heirloom ring slipped off her finger sometime on March 18 while she was running errands in the city between 4 and 7 p.m.
She’s offering a reward for its safe return and said she’s desperate for any information from someone who may have seen it or picked it up.
“It’s a piece of my mom . . . and because she passed away in such a traumatic matter in front of me, I need to have it back. It’s like losing her all over again. I’m just sick about it,” said Toivanen.
Toivanen’s mother, Irene (known as Rene), passed away in 2006, followed by her father Raymond the next year. The ring was one of the most important things her mother had ever given her, she said.
It was given to Rene by Raymond well over 50 years ago, Toivanen said. It has a sapphire in the centre, surrounded by two diamonds on each side and a yellow gold band.
What makes it stand out is the delicate filigree work on the side of the band.
“If you turn it sideways you can see it. It looks like scrollwork. That’s very distinctive, a fancy pattern that turns and waves in gold. It’s filigreed from where the band thickens to hold the diamonds to where it gets narrower. The back of the ring is not filigreed, though.”
Growing up, Toivanen said she always pestered her mother to be allowed to wear the ring.
“She let me wear it once for a day. Then when I got older, she let me wear it for a weekend, then a month. I remember being so excited,” she said. “Mom and I were best friends. We did everything together. So I’ve been so careful with it . . . I can’t believe this happened.”
Toivanen said she thinks it may have come off when she was opening the hatchback of her rental car in the parking lot by the Co-op downtown. She also visited the Twice N Nice clothing store on Ross Street, Red Deer Collision and Repair at 2319 Taylor Drive as well as the Servus Credit Union in the south end. She stopped in at the Home Depot and Canadian Tire at that end of the city as well the Safeway gas bar downtown.
“Someone must have found it and I’m hoping with some exposure, they will turn it in,” she said. Anyone with more information about the ring can contact Toivanen at 403-346-6336 or at 778-628-7778 or by email at janietoi@yahoo.com.
rfrancoeur@www.reddeeradvocate.com