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.
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