This piece of jewelry is one of many that came from the Lois Moon estate. Lois was a remarkable woman who died in the spring of 2000 after suffering many years with illness. Her devoted husband Jim cared for her at home right up to the end. 

I knew Lois & Jim from the local area. I would run into them at estate sales and they would frequent my shop from time to time, often to ask me questions about some treasure they acquired. Lois was in her 70’s and her husband Jim was 16 years younger than her.

  One day another local dealer who knew them mentioned to me that Lois had quite the collection of costume jewelry. This came as a huge surprise to me, because other than her wedding ring and cross around her neck, I’d never seen her wear any jewelry. The next time I saw Lois I asked her about her jewelry. Her face lit up and she told me that she had a wonderful collection that she’d been collecting for more than 25 years.  I asked her if she’d care to sell any of it to me, and she thought about it for a minute and said, “No, I don’t think so, but if I change my mind I’ll call you”.

When I read in the newspaper that Lois had died, I was saddened not only at her passing, but I knew that Jim was severely heartbroken. About 8 months after her death, Jim called me and asked me if I’d be interested in buying a “suitcase” of jewelry. I went to their home and on the kitchen table Jim had a briefcase and a train case full of wonderful jewelry.  I made him an offer and he accepted it. He then motioned for me to follow him to a spare room. In that room he opened a closet door and in that closet were another 8 or so small suitcases of jewelry! He wanted to look through them first but sold them to me one by one over the course of a year and a half. During these visits, I could see how lonely and sad Jim was. Seeing the jewelry again reminded him about how much he missed his Lois.

In October 2001 I ran into two dealers I knew who also had known Lois & Jim. I mentioned to them how I was buying jewelry from Jim and how I wish I knew someone that I could introduce to Jim. Jim’s tastes were simple but loved a good time like “open mike” night at the Eagles Club or a Dinner/Dance at the Moose.  One of my friends said, “I have an aunt who would do a jig to go to a Dinner/Dance at the Moose!”  So we introduced them and they’re now engaged to be married. I feel like Lois had a hand in playing Cupid and know that she’d be pleased to know that her love of jewelry had a part in finding someone for Jim.  I only wish that Lois had sold the jewelry to me herself, so she could have given me some history behind these lovely pieces. Many of the pieces from this estate have managed to find their way into my personal collection, but there are too many to keep them all. I’ve sold many over the years on ebay and through my website to people who will treasure them as much as Lois did. Because Lois was such a special person and her collection was a special as she was, I like my customers to know where their jewelry came from when it belonged to her. May Lois be long remembered by her jewelry that she loved so much.

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