Nov 14, 2023

Husband’s ashes returned to widow after cold-hearted robbery

Untitled design - 2023-11-14T104535.576
87-year-old Nada and her daughter Joan were devastated when the urn was taken. [Source: A Current Affair]

An older Queensland woman has had her late husband’s ashes returned after burglars stole his urn from her Queensland home in broad daylight.

Nada French, 87, had the urn containing the ashes of her husband of 53 years Neal stolen along with her engagement and eternity rings from her property in Mount Gravatt on Thursday.

Speaking with A Current Affair, Ms French and her daughter Joan Hyams explained how the cold-hearted theft was like “losing dad twice”. 

Ms Hyams described the theft as being “even more disturbing” for the family than when her father passed away in 2016.

Untitled design - 2023-11-14T104454.967
Ms French had planned for her ashes to be interned with her husband's. [Source: A Current Affair]

But the mother and daughter were ecstatic when they received a call confirming Neal’s urn was located by police on the steps of a nearby church after the family put out a public plea for its return.

“It means everything because we planned so many years ago that we would both be cremated and both go into the family plot at Nudgee,” Nada said.

Ms Hyams said she was elated to hear the urn had been returned and that her dad is “back with us, where he belongs.”

“He was such a good, considerate, thoughtful, family man. I couldn’t have asked for anything better, really.”

While the tragedy was resolved, the incident majorly concerned Ms French as she thought her home was totally secure. 

“My other son and I are looking into how we can make [the house] more secure,” she said. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

The Eden Alternative: “People started to thrive”

In the early 1990s, doctor and geriatrician Dr Bill Thomas was working in a nursing home when a resident approached him about a rash. She also mentioned that she was lonely. Dr Thomas was able to prescribe a cream for the rash, but when he consulted his Harvard medical books for how to treat loneliness,... Read More

RN neglect leads to death: Alarms turned off, family FaceTimed during shift

A Registered Nurse (RN) with 15 years of experience has had her registration cancelled after neglectful care, such as turning off heart monitor alarms and using her phone to FaceTime family during a shift contributed to the death of an 85-year-old patient. Read More

Elderly couple’s ‘tree-change’ turns into moving nightmare

An elderly couple have been left without a huge portion of their furniture and possessions for nearly a year after a move from Queensland to New South Wales went horrible wrong due to their removalist accidentally selling $120,000 of their belongings. Read More
Advertisement