It was in the spring of 2002 and I had graduated from rehab after spending six months there. I was living with my father in Chandler's Landing in Rockwall. One day the phone rang and a woman on the other end asked me if she could speak to Richard David DeFace ( that was my brother). I asked her if she meant Richard Hall DeFace ( my father) and she said no it is Richard David DeFace and he graduated from Woodrow Wilson in 1971. I was shocked and began to shake slightly. Grabbing for the nearest chair I had to sit down, it took my breath away.
Not knowing what to say I decided to just tell the truth. " I am sorry ma’am but Richard David DeFace is deceased and has been since 1971" She sighed and said she was so very sorry. The reason for her call was she had bought some furniture from an estate sale in Mabank, Texas and she found a senior ring from Woodrow Wilson 1971 with the initials RDD engraved inside. The ring was in one of the drawers of a desk she bought. She decided to research this ring to see if she could return it to the owner. After a lot of detective work and calls it was determined that the only Woodrow graduate of 1971 with the initials RDD was my brother. (By this point I was very emotional because she was so kind and I didn’t have anything that belonged David. As I have said to this day I can’t remember David in life, I only remember his death and the tragic events that followed.)
After determining the owner of the ring she set out to find him which was an easy task, there were not many Richard DeFace’s in the Dallas area or anywhere for that matter ( one time a facebook app said it would tell you how many people on facebook had your name, I put in DeFace and the answer was zero) We then talked , I cried and she said she would mail me the ring. I never told my dad because even in 2002 we did not acknowledge that David existed. I checked the mail each day hoping this was not a prank and about a week later a package arrived. It was David’s ring gold with a ruby stone and the letters RDD engraved inside. I cherished it believing it was a sign from God, I wasn’t sure what it meant but it was so very special to me.
I wish I could say I still had that ring but I don’t. I relapsed and got locked up not long after this, my father got extremely ill and spent six months in the hospital. While he was there his home was foreclosed on and all the belongings were removed or stolen. I don’t know what happened to all of his stuff but the ring disappeared with everything else. There are many unanswered questions to this story: why was the ring in Mabank in the first place? where is it now? If I wouldn’t have relapsed I would probably still have that part of my brother but my hopes and prayers today are for God to bring memories of my brother to the surface of my mind that I can hold in my heart. The ring would be special but it is only a piece of metal, the memories I would cherish and hold in my heart forever.
( this was my dad's house in Chandler's Landing. You can see the balcony that led from the gameroom. I had the ring hidden in the gameroom in a little box. I thought about asking the current owners if they happened to find a ring. I might do that :)) )