Rigby woman heartbroken after mother's cherished rings are cremated with her body - East Idaho News
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Rigby woman heartbroken after mother’s cherished rings are cremated with her body

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UPDATE. The rings have been recovered. Click here for the latest.

RIGBY — Marlene Ladendorff knew the day was coming.

Her 83-year-old mother, who was in poor health, was close to dying and Ladendorff would then inherit the four rings that were always worn on her mom’s left hand.

“My plan was to take the diamonds from those rings and put them into mine so that I’d have her and dad with me,” Ladendorff says. “Out of everything bad that was happening, the one thing I could count on was the rings my dad gave her when they got married would be with me.”

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Marlene Ladendorff was supposed to inherit four rings her mother, Zelma Rae, always wore on her left hand. | Photo courtesy Marlene Ladendorff.

Zelma Rae Ladendorff passed away on Dec. 14 at MorningStar Senior Living Center in Idaho Falls. Workers with Wood Funeral Home arrived and picked up her body to be cremated.

“At the time, I said she left with a blouse and her wedding rings and I wanted those,” Ladendorff recalls. “The man with Wood said that wouldn’t be a problem.”

For the past three weeks, Ladendorff says she continually called the funeral home and asked about the rings. On Tuesday, she learned the devastating news.

“The guy on the phone told me mom’s rings had mistakingly been cremated with her,” Ladendorff says. “They asked what they needed to do to make it right and I told them to get my mom’s rings back.”

Brian Wood, the co-owner of Wood Funeral Home, tells EastIdahoNews.com the rings were cremated due to “human error.”

“I take full responsibility for the mistake and we’re truly sorry,” Wood says. “This should not have happened and I want to do whatever it takes to make things right for Marlene.”

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Brian Wood, co-owner of Wood Funeral Home, says the rings were mistakingly cremated due to “human error.” | EastIdahoNews.com.

Wood has offered to pay all of Zelma Rae’s funeral expenses, replace the rings and “do whatever she wants so she can know how sorry we are.”

For now, Ladendorff says she plans to hire a third party to sift through her mother’s remains in hopes of recovering the diamonds.

She’s sharing her story so others in similar situations will collect jewelry and valuables before their deceased family members are taken away.

“I should have taken the rings off her fingers when she passed,” Ladendorff says. “I wanted them to be a part of me and now they are gone.”

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