How Steve became Julie's little jewel

The ashes of the popular Maltby character have been turned into a custom-made ring for his widow Julie by memorial jewellery specialists Sentimental Connections.

Julie will wear the ring—with Steve’s ashes as the centrepiece—at a memorial service in Maltby on Sunday before she and her family visit the Brooklands Club where they spent many happy evenings together.

She said that the unusual ring was the perfect personal reminder of 58-year-old Steve, who died in June after an eight-year battle with cancer.

“Turning his ashes into a piece of jewellery is something Steve would have loved,” she said.

“I contacted Sentimental Connections and they very kindly offered to make the ring for free.

“Steve was such a well-known and popular character in Maltby.

“After he was diagnosed with throat cancer, he was determined not to let the disease stop him enjoying life and was a regular at Maltby’s Brooklands Club and the Miners’ Welfare. He did his best not to give in to it.

“Now he’ll be going back to Brooklands as the jewel he always was to his hundreds of friends.

“I will be wearing Steve on my hand and I’m sure all those who loved him will see him still shining through.”

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The ring—which features a glass dome setting with Steve’s ashes suspended inside—was donated by Sentimental Connections.

Julie added: “The funeral director told me about memorial jewellery and it caught my imagination—I thought it was a lovely idea.

“A family member has links with Sentimental Connections and knew all about Steve and what a character he was and decided to donate the ring in his memory.

“I have been wearing it since it arrived—it fits perfectly—and all the family and friends who have seen it love it, too.”

Fifty-eight year old granddad Steve was given a colourful send off by hundreds of friends and family after Julie insisted she did not want the funeral to be downbeat.

The pallbearers all wore pink and the 600 guests were asked to wear colourful clothes to pay tribute.

“You could always hear Steve before you saw him. He would play the songs he loved at full blast as he drove to the club. He was famous for wearing shorts, even when it was snowing,” Julie said.

“The lads at the Maltby gym said he had the best pair of legs in town.”

Before Steve’s return to his old stamping ground, his family will be at St Bartholomew’s Church, Maltby, where a service is being held in memory of those from the town who have died this summer.

The managing director of Sentimental Connections, Nick Cranham, said: “We were delighted to make this special ring for such a larger than life character.

“Our patented process involves setting a portion of cremated ash in a clear, hard polymer, forming the centrepiece of a variety of items of jewellery, including pendants, brooches, rings, earrings and cuff links.

“They are proving increasingly popular with people who want a very special and personal memorial to their departed loved one.”

For more information visit www.sentimentalconnections.com.