HUMMELS WHARF -- Gordon Kallenberg wipes away a tear while describing his wife's worrying about her stolen diamond wedding ring just days before she died.
"There's a lot of emotion tied to that," he said of the 2Ω-carat diamond ring he gave to her in 1943.
Olive Kallenberg, 91, was at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, when the ring she'd worn for 66 years came up missing.
Hospital officials called Olive's husband at his Lori Lane home in Hummels Wharf on March 31 to inform him that they were looking for the ring.
That day, he and longtime family friend Bill Holgerson visited Olive in the hospital.
"She was upset. Gordy, my ring is gone,'" the 94-year-old Kallenberg said, his eyes welling with tears at the memory. "The whole hospital was very nice, but I just figured somebody took it off her finger."
Suffering from diabetes and heart problems, Olive was "easy pickings," he said.
A few days later, she died without ever again seeing the ring. On Thursday, Kallenberg learned that physical therapist Michelle Colone, 33, of Berwick, had been charged with stealing the ring during a therapy session in Olive's room, according to a criminal complaint filed by Mahoning Township police at District Judge Marvin Shrawder's Danville office.
Colone allegedly asked an unidentified patient companion to leave Olive's room during treatment and when the companion returned, the ring was gone from the elderly woman's finger, the complaint said.
An employee with HealthSouth, Colone is also accused of stealing cash, a cell phone, a bank debit card, three gift cards and gloves from coworkers.
Justin Walden, a spokesman for Geisinger Medical Center, said Friday: "It is our policy not to comment on ongoing criminal investigations. However, I can say that we make every effort to ensure that we have a safe environment for patients and staff."
Police said the crimes are the result of Colone's addiction to drugs.
Suspect had "drug debt"
On April 3, Colone drove her car over an embankment in Hazleton and told police she was in the area "to pay off a drug debt," the complaint said.
Six days later, on April 9, she was charged with driving while intoxicated and determined to be under the influence of cocaine after striking several mobile homes in a Columbia County trailer park.
"She was probably going to hock my wife's ring," Kallenberg said. "I don't know how she can live with herself."
Although he probably wouldn't have buried his wife with the ring -- he said he'd prefer to keep it for sentimental reasons -- he's upset Olive worried about its loss in the days before her death.
"The only time I saw her without that ring on was when she had it made smaller," Holgerson, the family friend, said.
About a year ago, the Kallenbergs had a Valley jeweler resize and intertwine the wedding and engagement rings so they would stay on firmly.
Twelve years ago, when Olive's sister was hospitalized, Holgerson said he left her wedding band on her hand but removed the diamond engagement ring so it wouldn't be lost or stolen.
They didn't do the same with Olive, though, because the rings were fused and she'd never experienced a problem during numerous hospital visits.
1943 price? $342
A former Navy engineer and retired bank officer who moved to Hummels Wharf from Massachusetts 30 years ago, Kallenberg still has the receipt showing he paid $342 for the ring he gave Olive after an eight-year courtship. Today, it's valued at $5,500, he said, adding that he was told the ring would be returned to him.
They had two sons and a happy marriage, Kallenberg said, choking up as he looked through a family photo album.
"I have a lot of rich memories," he said. "I grew up during the Depression. I don't know how I could have been fortunate enough to have married her."
n E-mail comments to mmoore@dailyitem.com. Staff reporter Rick Dandes contributed to this report.
News
Related Photos
Discussion
Cops: Therapist stole ring from dying woman
Suspect hooked on drugs; victim never saw wedding band again
- News
-
-
Jokester cop tased intern at station
NORTHUMBERLAND — A Northumberland police detective claims in a lawsuit filed Wednesday he was wrongly blamed after an officer shot an intern with a Taser gun while fooling around at the police station in December.
-
Midd-West taxpayers face increase of $109
MIDDLEBURG — The Midd-West School District on Thursday night announced an average property tax increase of $109 to help offset its $1.8 million budget deficit for the 2012-13 school year.
Midd-West will also close two elementary schools, consolidate two middle schools, cut programs and furlough seven teachers and 23 other staff members. -
LARA: Charred bridge sound
LEWISBURG — The fire-damaged railroad bridge crossing the Susquehanna River at Lewisburg is structurally sound following the March fire that discolored steel and charred roughly 400 ties, the Lewisburg Area Recreation Authority said at its meeting Thursday.
-
Stat of the Day: $2.6 million
Stat of the Day: $2.6 million.
That's what President Barack Obama has spent on advertising in Iowa, which may be a battleground state in November's election against presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
-
Northampton County jury sentences man to death in officer killing
EASTON — Jurors in eastern Pennsylvania have sentenced a man to death for fatally shooting a police officer last summer.
-
'To Do': Ambulance Anniversary
DANVILLE - The Danville Ambulance Service will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a free pig roast open to the public starting at noon May 25 at the service on A Street.
-
Judge denies convicted teen's request to attend vocational school
MIDDLEBURG — The teen convicted of causing a March 2010 car crash that killed two classmates will not be allowed to leave jail to attend a vocational school.
-
Private supply ship flies by space station in test
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The world's first private supply ship flew tantalizingly close to the International Space Station on Thursday, acing a critical test in advance of the actual docking.
-
Forecasters: 9 to 15 storms this hurricane season
MIAMI — U.S. forecasters predicted Thursday that this year's Atlantic hurricane season would produce a normal number of about nine to 15 tropical storms.
-
Police Log 05.24.12
A roundup of police news reported by departments across the Central Susquehanna Valley.
-
60 and counting: Laptop
A laptop computer has changed my life.
-
10 Things to Know Today
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today (times EDT):
- More News Headlines
-
Jokester cop tased intern at station
