Lost pendant carries a lifetime of love

DEMOREST, Ga. — What slipped away during a quiet evening at the park is, for one woman, irreplaceable.

Marianne Lee is asking for help finding a gold coin pendant lost at Demorest Springs Park. It is more than jewelry. It is a piece of her family’s story — and a symbol of a love that spanned a lifetime.

A love that shaped generations

Marianne’s grandparents — her Opa and Oma — met in Germany during World War II. He served as a Chief Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. She was a German native who later came to the United States with him. Their bond, she said, defined their family.

“I watched them love each other passionately and unconditionally,” Marianne said. “That love poured over into their grandchildren.”

Years before his passing, her grandfather gave her grandmother a gold coin pendant — a simple but deeply meaningful token of that love. The pendant features the Aries zodiac symbol, a ram, with “Aries” beneath it. On the back, he engraved a personal message to his wife.

Her grandmother later passed it down to Marianne.

A loss that still lingers

Childhood summers with her grandparents made the necklace even more meaningful. Those memories, she said, are rooted in love, safety, and time spent together.

When the COVID pandemic hit, Marianne lost her grandfather — not to illness, but because, she said, it was his time.

Their final goodbye came through a window.

“To this day, I think about how much I wish I could have hugged him one more time,” she shared in a social media post.

Now 90, her grandmother shares a birthday with Marianne, deepening the sentimental value of the gift.

‘Astounding meaning’

Marianne realized the pendant was missing after reviewing photos from an evening with friends at the park near Piedmont University. In those images, the necklace is still around her neck — just minutes before it disappeared.

“I know this may sound materialistic, but this piece has astounding meaning,” she said.

Since then, she has been searching — holding onto hope that someone may have found it.

“If you find it, please find it in your heart to return it,” she said.

Anyone with information about the missing pendant is asked to call or text 706-949-3195.