HUMMELS WHARF -- Gordon Kallenberg wipes away a tear while describing his wife's worrying about her stolen diamond wedding ring just days before she died.

"There's a lot of emotion tied to that," he said of the 2½-carat diamond ring he gave to her in 1943.

Olive Kallenberg, 91, was at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, when the ring she'd worn for 66 years came up missing.

Hospital officials called Olive's husband at his Lori Lane home in Hummels Wharf on March 31 to inform him that they were looking for the ring.

That day, he and longtime family friend Bill Holgerson visited Olive in the hospital.

"She was upset. �Gordy, my ring is gone,'" the 94-year-old Kallenberg said, his eyes welling with tears at the memory. "The whole hospital was very nice, but I just figured somebody took it off her finger."

Suffering from diabetes and heart problems, Olive was "easy pickings," he said.

A few days later, she died without ever again seeing the ring. On Thursday, Kallenberg learned that physical therapist Michelle Colone, 33, of Berwick, had been charged with stealing the ring during a therapy session in Olive's room, according to a criminal complaint filed by Mahoning Township police at District Judge Marvin Shrawder's Danville office.

Colone allegedly asked an unidentified patient companion to leave Olive's room during treatment and when the companion returned, the ring was gone from the elderly woman's finger, the complaint said.

An employee with HealthSouth, Colone is also accused of stealing cash, a cell phone, a bank debit card, three gift cards and gloves from coworkers.

Justin Walden, a spokesman for Geisinger Medical Center, said Friday: "It is our policy not to comment on ongoing criminal investigations. However, I can say that we make every effort to ensure that we have a safe environment for patients and staff."

Police said the crimes are the result of Colone's addiction to drugs.

Suspect had "drug debt"

On April 3, Colone drove her car over an embankment in Hazleton and told police she was in the area "to pay off a drug debt," the complaint said.

Six days later, on April 9, she was charged with driving while intoxicated and determined to be under the influence of cocaine after striking several mobile homes in a Columbia County trailer park.