July 25, 2026: Two weeks after his wife passed away from a brief battle with cancer, Robert Calderin walked her favorite part of South Beach Park in Fort Pierce, Fla.
Looking at the ocean, he thought of JoAnn, his wife of 42 years, who from October to June 24 fought cholangiocarcinoma, a rare but aggressive cancer of the bile ducts.
“Joey and I, my wife, we would come here all the time,” Calderin told CBS12. “This was our favorite part of the beach.”
But when Calderin, 73, returned to his home in Port St. Lucie, he realized his wedding ring must have slipped off his finger while he was at the beach.
“I felt so terrible, so distraught over that that I came out here Thursday…to look for the ring,” Calderin said, blinking back tears.
Wedding Ring Replaced One Previously Lost
JoAnn had given him the ring – a silver band featuring a distinctive Native American design – years ago to replace another wedding ring he had lost.
“I stupidly lost the first ring,” Calderin said. “I got into the habit of going into public restrooms, taking off my ring and washing my hands. I guess I left it behind one day.”
Now, after Calderin posted on social media about his lost ring, strangers have turned up at the beach with metal detectors, hoping to find the wedding ring for the distraught widower.
“I was floored,” Calderin said. “I told the story asking if anybody comes across this ring, maybe a miracle is out there, and I started getting an avalanche of responses.”
Born in New York City to Latino immigrants, Calderin earned degrees from Fordham University, the City University of New York, and the State University of New York, culminating in a Doctor of Education in educational leadership.
Last year, Christian Faith Publishing issued Calderin’s memoir, New Beginnings Never End.
At the time, Hometown News wrote:
Throughout the book, Calderin reflects on personal mistakes, betrayals, blessings, and the divine guidance he believes carried him through every setback. “God has always led me back to the light,” he says. “We fall, fail, get up, learn, grow, and live. The good and the bad come around again—so prepare yourself for God’s grace.”
The ring hasn’t turned up yet, but the kindness of strangers has lifted him up when he needed it most.
“Yeah, I lost the wedding ring, and I lost that memory, but you know what I found? I found that there’s good people out there, and that Jesus lives in the faith, hope, and charity of those people,” he said. “I have renewed faith in goodness.”
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