Irreplaceable keepsake stolen from Aloha funeral home

ALOHA Ore. (KPTV) - A crime in Aloha at a family-run funeral home has left them heartbroken and upset, as an irreplaceable piece of memorabilia was stolen.

Surveillance video shows the crime happening 10 a.m. Monday. That’s when the Springer family said the suspect missed a service he hoped to attend.

“He came in asking what’s going on with the family service,” Dani Springer said, who runs the Springer and Son Funeral Home with her husband John.

She said while they were checking in with the family of that service to let them know the man was looking for them, he stole her late father-in-law, James Springer’s, letterman jacket off the wall and took off.

“We’re mad as can be,” she said. “Unfortunately, he’s not with us anymore. It’s one piece of memorabilia he specifically wore.”

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John said his father’s letterman jacket sat on the wall for at least 15 years since his father’s death in 2004. He said he intended to pass the jacket along to his own son but was too furious to give a formal interview.

Dani said they hoped to “keep it in the family, obviously. Now, we potentially can’t do that.”

The family is happy to have been able to catch the suspect on camera, where you can get a good look at his face. They were also able to catch the getaway vehicle outside, which appeared to be a small charcoal gray or black sedan.

Dani said she and her husband used to be proud Oregonians, like their late father-in-law, who attended Beaverton High School, but she said they’re not proud anymore.

“The way things are going in Oregon with the drugs, and the thefts -- it has gone bad,” Dani said. “This is just another proof of what it’s coming to. To come to a funeral home, and steal from a funeral home of all places,” she said. “You have to be the lowest person in the world. You are at your rock bottom right now and you need serious, serious help. He deserves just to rot in jail. Actually, I don’t even want to spend the taxes on him.”

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All in all, she just wants their letterman jacket back.

“I don’t care if it’s just a small thing like a jacket. It had a lot of meaning to us. I hope that when we find this guy, he goes to jail longer than seven hours. I hope he has some repercussions that make him change his ways.”

If you recognize the suspect, call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency number at 503-629-0111.

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