“My parents were awesome as hell. They never fought. They just had so much respect for each other. It made our house a very happy home.” - Diana N.
The stone that Diana wears on her right ring finger is absolutely beautiful, and even more precious than a diamond mined from the earth. That’s because Diana’s Diamond—a colorless 1-carat—was grown by combining carbon from her mother’s hair and carbon purified from the cremated remains of her father.
“What I love so much about my Diamond being made from my mom’s hair and my dad’s ashes is that it’s kind of like the symbolism of living and passing,” says Diana.
We chatted with Diana about her parents and why she decided to honor their remarkable lives with a Diamond.
A Memorable Meeting
Diana’s parents met at a “mixer” after Vilma’s teaching career brought her to Hawaii where Lyman was stationed as a second lieutenant. At the event, they were each paired up with different people for a photo. Jonesing for a little excitement, Vilma poured a beer over Lyman’s head and that marked the beginning of a life filled with love, laughter, and countless happy memories.
Meet Lyman
An artist and an engineer, Diana’s father was a big man, both in stature and personality. Despite having cancer for eight years and undergoing chemotherapy for most of that time, he remained strong until the end, finally passing away in 2010 at the age of eighty.
“He was larger than life,” shares Diana. “Super intelligent, super kind, real sports guy. He was amazing. My parents would sit in their two captains’ chairs next to each other,” shares Diana. “Dad would be watching all sports all the time. And Mom, the saint, took up cross stitching so she could still sit with him and not have to watch all sports all the time.”
Meet Vilma
“My mom was something else,” Diana laughs. “She was so fun. We’d go out and we’d always get half hot chocolate, half coffee. She LOVED that. And whenever we went out for drives, she would always make me drive around cemeteries so she could pick out the best spot to have her ashes laid.”
The Diamond
Diana kept her father’s ashes, along with those of her mother, who passed away at the age of ninety-one (and a half) in December 2021.
“That half a year was very important to my mom,” shares Diana, laughing. “She wanted everyone to know she was ninety-one and a half!”
When Vilma turned ninety, Diana shared with her mom that she wanted to grow a Diamond. “I told her I really want a diamond,” shares Diana. “But I want it from you and Dad.”
With her mother’s blessing, Diana collected a baggie of her mother’s hair to eventually combine with her father’s ashes, which she sent to Eterneva. The Diamond came home in time for Christmas, and when Diana finally showed it to her mom, she was speechless.
“She simply couldn’t believe that it was made from her hair and Dad’s ashes,” shares Diana, adding, “That meant so much to my mom, being able to see the diamond.”
The Diamond itself is engraved with both Vilma and Lyman’s initials. “Diamond is my birthstone,” states Diana. “So, having one made from my parents is very special to me. It was very much worth the investment, because it’s something I’m always going to have. And I can give it to my daughters. It’s special. There’s a story behind it. And I’m all about romance. So it’s a romantic story. I’m keeping their love alive.”
Setting the Stone
Vilma passed December 2, 2021. Diana held onto her parents’ Diamond for more than a year, until deciding to gift herself a ring the following Christmas. She visited her friend at Alison's Jewelry & Repair and picked out a beveled gold and silver ring in which to set the stone. Now, she wears it every day!
“It’s a beautiful diamond,” she marvels. “The jeweler even said that to me. This is beautiful, look at the way it sparkles!”
Diana is still deeply connected to her parents. She finds comfort in having pieces of them around her, such as the Eterneva Diamond made from their ashes and hair. Her parents’ legacy lives on, not just through their children and grandchildren, but through the love and respect they had for each other and the happy home they created.
