Port Charlotte woman loses necklace with husband’s ashes

Reporter: Gina Tomlinson Writer: Jack Lowenstein
Published: Updated:

A woman in Charlotte County wants all the help she can get after losing a necklace nine days ago that is near and dear to her. It is a symbol of the 50 years of marriage she shared with her husband. Not only is it symbolic to the love they shared, the necklace is an urn with her husband’s ashes inside.

Joyce Rule in Port Charlotte says it would be her Christmas miracle if she could be reunited with her precious, necklace urn of her husband’s ashes.

Joyce said her necklace could be anywhere, including a Target store along US-41 in Port Charlotte. It was one of the many places Joyce said she was running errands at before she noticed her necklace was gone. She’s searched her home, tore apart her car and has looked everywhere. Now, she’s hoping for a miracle.

“It was just like I lost him all over again,” Joyce said. “That’s what it felt like when I lost it.”

This will be the sixth Christmas Joyce will spend without her husband, Bob.

“He was the kindest, most-generous man,” Joyce said.

The two met in high school and were married for 50 years before Joyce lost Bob to cancer in 2014.

“He was my soulmate and just meant everything to me,” Joyce said.

The special pendant containing Bob’s ashes is missing too.

“I felt comfort when I had it on,” Joyce said. “And, now, it’s gone.”

Within the red circle is Joyce Rule’s teardrop-shaped pendant that holds her husband Bob’s ashes.

Joyce says she first noticed the necklace missing after a long day of running errands in Port Charlotte. Her necklace bearing the teardrop-shaped pendant with her husband’s ashes that she never took off.

“It’s silver at the top and gold colored at the bottom,” Joyce said. “The chain goes right through the silver part.”

Joyce hopes for a miracle this holiday season, so she can, once again, wear her beloved necklace. Jan. 6 is the anniversary of Bob’s death, and Joyce hopes she will be able to wear her necklace to start the new year.

‘”I’m just praying that that right person will find it,” Joyce said. 

Click the link to the WINK News Facebook post of this story to help Joyce find her necklace.

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