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Oct 22, 2024

LI Woman Searching For Her Late Mother's Lost Ring : 'It's Invaluble' | North Fork, NY Patch

GREENPORT, NY — A woman reeling from the loss of her mother has been hit hard by another sorrow — the disappearance of a ring worn by both her mother and grandmother for decades. Lesley Evans, whose

GREENPORT, NY — A woman reeling from the loss of her mother has been hit hard by another sorrow — the disappearance of a ring worn by both her mother and grandmother for decades.

Lesley Evans, whose mother Grace Kempton, of Greenport, died on August 8, is bereft over the loss of the ring that she says was so much more than jewelry — it was a tangible link that tied her to her grandmother and mother in a way that nothing else could, its edges worn by the very hands of those who'd guided her lovingly for decades.

Evans said the ring was lost in a move from her mother's home at 156 Central Avenue in Greenport and went missing between August 26 to 29. She is offering a $1,500 reward for the ring, no questions asked.

The ring is a black onyx oval, with a diamond in the center, set in gold. Although probably only worth a few hundred dollars at best, for Evans, it is priceless in sentimental meaning. "It was my mom's and it's invaluable to me," she wrote on social media.

Anyone who might have the ring, or have found it, can email Evans at [email protected], drop it off with Southold Town police, or at Colonial Drugs in Greenport with the words "Grace's daughter."

The precious ring was first worn by her grandmother Adelaide Marie Kempton; it was made in the 1920s in the Art Deco style, she said.

For Evans, who lost her grandmother at just 63 years old and her mother this summer at 73, the grief is palpable.

"When my grandmother passed away, my mom started wearing the ring," she said. "I had never not seen it on my mom's finger. She never took it off."

But as she got sick, her mom's fingers were swollen, so she placed the ring in a "Lord & Taylor" cup with some other rings; the two had spent many happy days shopping at the department store together.

Evans, who grew up on Shelter Island, now lives on Staten Island, was rocked by her mother's death. Hospice had been called on a Monday, she said.

"The plan was to see her on a Friday but by Thursday, hospice told me I needed to come out right away," Evan said, her voice laced with tears. "I got there at 5 p.m. She passed away at 10:05 p.m."

After she'd rushed to the Hampton Jitney and arrived in Greenport, Evans was finally with the mother she loved beyond words. "We all looked at my mom and a single tear was running from her eyes," she said. Evans walked over to her mom and told her not to worry about anything, that her beloved dog Abby would always be cared for.

"And then she just stopped breathing," Evans said. "We had no idea this was going to happen."

The grief was tangible, the sorrow eternal, she said.

When she was cleaning out her mother's apartment, Evans found that the ring that meant so much — that meant everything — was gone. Somehow, it had gone missing.

"I'd gone to that apartment, and I had my mind set, to put that ring on my finger and assume the position as the woman in the family. A brave woman, even though I no longer had my mom. I went to find it, and it was gone."

The loss echoes, she said.

"I work at a church and every day, I pray to St. Anthony," she said.

The ring, she said again, is not rich in monetary value. But in terms of sentimentality and meaning, it is literally priceless.

"All the gold on the side was literally worn way from my mom's finger. And that's what I was looking forward to the most, all the places where she'd worn it down," she said.

Resolute, Evans said, through tears streaming, that she is determined to find the ring.

Reflecting on the relationship she shared with her mother, Evans said she can't even begin to describe the bond. "My mom was just an incredibly strong and resilient woman who reinvented herself a million different ways, to take care of herself as a single woman. She was fearless."

Her mother, Evans said, was "super, super patriotic" and loved America. Even when she offered to bring her mother to Europe, she was content to stay on the North Fork, the little piece of heaven she'd found and adored.

"She'd say, 'Leslie, I live on the East End of Long Island. There's nowhere I need to go or that I could go that's better than this. Take me to New Suffolk. I want to go to the beach in New Suffolk. She didn't want to go to the Bahamas. She wanted to go to New Suffolk and shop in her friend's store. That way my mom, super simple."

Her father was a house painter, a trade her brother has embraced; their roots are deeply entwined in North Fork soil.

Evans has a plea for anyone who may have found the ring: "It would mean the world to me, if you could return the ring. I lost my mother and then, one month later, I lost the ring. It was a tremendous hit. And I feel like if I just get the ring back, I can deal with the loss. This is two losses at once, and it feels tremendous. I don't have anything else of hers that means anything close to what the ring means to me."

One thing she does have, Evans said, is her mother's beloved dog Abby. "We're mourning her together," she said.