"Priceless" love letters stolen from grandmother
GLENDALE, Calif. -- When the home of an elderly California woman was burglarized last week, she says she lost something far more valuable than jewelry or money, reports CBS LA.
Glendale resident Rosaleen Rickerby, an 80-year-old grandmother, says the thieves made off with a makeup case containing dozens of love letters written to her long ago by her husband John, who passed away in December.
The couple had been married 56 years.
"He says 'I fell in love with you the first time I set my eyes on you'," Rickerby told the station. "We were soul mates. We were meant to be together."
The couple reportedly met in Ireland in 1951. Her husband later moved to Canada to find work, but he communicated with Rickerby through the love letters.
As her husband's memory began to fade in the final years of his life, she said she read him the letters.
"Sometimes I would get the letters down and read them to him, and I'd say 'Remember this was in Canada, John? You wrote to me," Rickerby told the station.
Rickerby's family is offering a $2,500 reward for the return of the heirloom letters. Whether or not they're found, Rickerby says, "They'll always be in my heart, just like he will always be in my heart."