An East Bay woman lost her son to war, her husband to illness and now she has lost a family heirloom that linked the two men together.
The woman on Christmas learned that a gold ring bearing the family crest had been stolen from the mausoleum where her son was laid to rest at the Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Lafayette.
Roxane Langevin went to the cemetery on Christmas afternoon to honor her late son, Army Specialist Sean Langevin, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2007.
"Sean loved life. He loved an adventure," she said. "I keep going for him."
Sean Langevin's personal items and an urn containing ashes are displayed behind a locked glass in a nitche in a mausoleum. When Roxane Langevin visited, she noticed the ring given to her son by her husband, who died last year after a prolonged illness, was missing.
"I was upset, I was angry," she said. "I cried. I couldn't believe that someone would violate a sacred place."
No one from the cemetery was available to provide comment on the story. The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office said they have no suspects in the case, and anyone with information is urged to come forward.
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Roxane Langevin said no glass was broken, but six of the seven locks on the display case were missing. She said her husband researched the family crest and had crest rings made for all the men in their family.
"I just couldn't believe that someone could do something like this to someone who served our country, fought for our country," Roxane Langevin said of the theft.
The ring is solid gold and worth several hundred dollars, but Roxane Langevin said it is not about the money.
"It's the sentimental value," she said. "My husband was all about traditions and those kind of things and carrying the family name. That was a really big deal to him."
Roxane Langevin now knows what she wants for Christmas next year.
"No questions asked. I just want it back more than anything," she said of the ring.
