A widower from Burnaby, B.C. is feeling heartbroken all over again after a wood carving dedicated to his late wife was stolen from outside his home.
Harry Peters lost his wife Laurie to a stroke in 2006, but he’ll always cherish the memories from the nearly two decades they spent blissfully married.
"She was the love of my life," Peters said. "She was gorgeous and we had the perfect life."
After she died, Peters decided to make a carving of a breeching orca whale that was inspired by Laurie's favourite painting, a piece by Haida artist April White.
When it was finished, he mounted it onto the roof of his car and drove it to Telegraph Bay, where he spread her ashes in a spot where she had seen orcas in the wild.
Last week, the carving was in its regular spot on Peters's back porch when someone stole it, leaving the widower devastated. For him, the carving represents a tangible connection to his lost love.
"It's more than my wife's carving, it's like a headstone," Peters said tearfully. "I just want it back because to me, it's worth a million [dollars]. And to anybody else, it's just garden ornaments. It's not fair."
His friend, Tasha Bowen, knows as well as anyone what the carving means to him. She was best friends with Laurie, and was awestruck by the couple's lasting romance.
"The connection they had was incredible. There's no words to describe it, really, how connected they were," Bowen said.
She shared a picture of the orca carving on Facebook over the weekend in the hopes that someone will recognize the distinct piece and help bring it home.
"I've had a few emails," Bowen said. "Obviously it's a huge piece that can't be missed."
Some people have since reported spotting it in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, and she's hopeful Peters will be reunited with the memorial soon.
Update: Peters has been reunited with the carving after it was located in the window of The Unique Antique on Main Street.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Ben Miljure
