CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — A Chesapeake woman who lost her husband late last year is now grieving another loss.

A special ring that her husband gave her before he passed away has gone missing.

The woman is turning to the public for help finding it.

LaToya Brown-Prince said the ring was a Mother’s Day gift from her husband, Curtiss, two years ago. He passed away unexpectedly in December at just 41 years old.

To others, the ring is just a piece of jewelry but to Brown-Prince, it’s a piece of her late husband that she’s hoping to get back.

“I just feel down on my finger sometimes and I just can’t believe that it’s gone,” Brown-Prince said.

It’s been a tough year for the mother of three. She’s a special education teacher who powered through the pandemic with her students.

Then in November, her husband Curtiss had a massive heart attack. He was in and out of the hospital for a few weeks.

“They kept him and they did everything they could’ve,” Brown-Prince said. “We spent Christmas together. I went home, and two hours later they called me and said that his heart had stopped.”

Curtiss passed away the next day.

The ring has been a treasured reminder of him ever since. Brown-Prince was devastated when she realized it was missing some time last month.

“I’ve torn the house up. Like I said, I looked through all the classrooms and garbage cans and bins at the school that I work,” Brown-Prince said.

She believes it may have been lost in the Western Branch area of the city where she was running errands.

“It’s white gold. To me, it looks like a pineapple upside-down cake,” Brown-Prince said. “It’s just really rare. It’s priceless.”

Brown-Prince has posted on social media with no luck just yet, but she’s not giving up hope that her tears of sadness will turn into tears of joy.

“It would mean the world. It would feel like I was getting him back all over again,” she said. “All of his gifts were always a surprise and I’m hoping he will surprise me again and send it back.”

If you locate this ring, send an email to latoyabrownprince@yahoo.com.