Why wear wedding ring after spous' death?

[Passport1]

I don't wear mine either. Too easy to get hurt working with tools and your hands besides sometimes my fingers swell up and a ring would be problematic. She doesn't care. We've been welded together for almost 50 years emotionally and financially anyhow. No way to unscramble that egg.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I’m a semi mechanic and don’t wear one while working. I wear a silicone band otherwise. This brings up something else. What I’ve noticed by walking in cemeteries are couples head stones. I often see a dead spouse and wonder if the wife or husband engraved on the stone is really 100 plus years old or if he/she remarried and no longer wants to Rest In Peace next to the previous spouse.

I came across one where the the first spouse died around 1980 and the second spouse lived past 2000. The manufacturer of the stone took the liberty of inscribing 19 below the spouses name way back then and now they had to mount a cheap look plastic cap glued to the stone with 2002 on it.

 

[Number_35]

My friend's father died when we were in high school. His widow (my friend's mother) switched her wedding band over to her right hand.

I thought this was wise - it was a reminder of her late husband, and yet didn't immediately show that she was married. She was young at the time 40ish) and did remarry a few years later.

At this point, with me being 64 years old and married 33 years, if my wife were to die before me, I doubt I would remarry. There's so much love and so much great shared experience that I think I would prefer to keep busy with family and friends rather than try marrying again.

Besides, I'm quite nerdy and introverted and have offbeat interests and a weird sense of humour - not exactly prime dating material.

But in any case, both of us seem to be in good health, so hopefully we'll have many more years together.

 

[Number_35]

I came across one where the the first spouse died around 1980 and the second spouse lived past 2000. The manufacturer of the stone took the liberty of inscribing 19 below the spouses name way back then and now they had to mount a cheap look plastic cap glued to the stone with 2002 on it.

Oops! You know what they say about assuming ...

 

[Gimpy1]

My mom lost her battle with metastatic bone cancer/breast cancer at 48 in 1999. My mom and dad had been married since 1972. It was a devastating blow to our family, especially my dad. He wore his wedding band for a year after her death. It was part of his healing process. He still has that ring eventhough he has remarried.

 

[wwillson]

My parents are grain and livestock farmers. You don't wear rings on a farm, unless you want to be missing your ring finger or worse. Yes, they have a neighbor about a mile away who has been missing his ring finger since about 1985. He jumped down from a piece of machinery and had to climb back onto it to retrieve his finger and ring.

Rings are a symbol of commitment in marriage. My parents have been married for 53 years and don't wear rings, because of the dangers of doing so on a farm. My Dad had a stroke about 15 years ago and has been unable to care for himself since. My mother has been my Dad's 24x7x365 caregiver for the last 15 years. That folks is what you call commitment.

 

[Bud]

The ring is just a symbol, more important to some than others. My wife and I of 48 years wore them when younger but don't bother anymore. Wife gave hers to our daughter and I got out of the habit because I couldn't wear it due to work. My wife has limited time left due to cancer, and she will be my first and last. No one could replace her.

 

[Leo99]

The ring is just a symbol, more important to some than others. My wife and I of 48 years wore them when younger but don't bother anymore. Wife gave hers to our daughter and I got out of the habit because I couldn't wear it due to work. My wife has limited time left due to cancer, and she will be my first and last. No one could replace her.

Sorry to hear that. That is a rough situation. The more you love them, the more painful it is. The rings are fairly important to my wife and me. I don't know if we'd still wear the ring when one of us goes. I'll ask her tonight and she'll cry.

 

[2005jettatdi]

My dad passed away in June, 2010. Mom still wears her wedding band 11 years later. I suspect it's more out of respect and the memories of the nearly 60 years of marriage they shared. Dad was also buried with his wedding band on.

My father died in 2014. He was buried without his wedding ring because it fell off his finger a couple of years before. My sister found in the garden a couple of years after his death, in the garden. Pure chance. My mother died in 2017 and I have it now, but I do not know what to do with it. I certainly cannot sell it. I would prefer he had been buried with it, as I expect to be buried with mine.

After 46 years of marriage, I cannot imagine being married to any other woman. I cannot imagine intimacy with any other woman. So, yes, I would wear my wedding ring if she died. The only time I did not wear it* was I was in the Army National Guard I would leave it home because of the danger of it getting caught on something and taking my finger off. My wife objected at first until I explained why and gave examples of it happening.

*I remember some years ago my wife was not wearing her ring set because the prongs were worn and she worried about losing the diamond. However, she thought the jewelers wanted too much and she did not want to spend the money to get it fixed. I finally took my ring off and told her I would put mine on when she put hers on, I did not care how much it cost. She got it fixed pretty quickly. Since she promised to get it fixed right away, I put my ring on before she got hers fixed. I think I had it off for a day.

 

[PandaBear]

We are married and neither of us wear rings. It just isn't comfortable and it sometimes cause short circuits on PCB or punch through medical gloves. We don't need a ring to remind us to behave.

 

[Dave Hess]

I agree with with the

We are married and neither of us wear rings. It just isn't comfortable and it sometimes cause short circuits on PCB or punch through medical gloves. We don't need a ring to remind us to behave.

Yep. + 10000%

 

[2005jettatdi]

My wedding ring is NOT a reminder to behave, my moral compass does that. My wedding ring is an outward sign of my commitment before God and the world to my wife.

 

[Jpc1623]

Don’t want to get hit on

 

[blupupher]

Reasons vary for all.

My dad passed in 2008, my parents had been married for 47 years at that time.
My mom still wears her rings. Says it is a constant reminder of their time together and helps her to remember him daily.

I wear my ring unless working on mechanical stuff.
Will I wear it if my wife passes before me, no idea.
After 29 years, it feels weird to not have it on and my finger has a permanent indentation on it.

 

[CharBaby]

This isn't to say that I haven't removed my wedding band from time to time while doing harsh work with my hands but it goes back on when I am not. My DAD never took off his wedding band even when he was working and he was a auto mechanic.

 

[vavavroom]

Gone but not forgotten. Not that I need the reminder. I normally don't wear the ring on the job or when doing sports or during activities that might damage it.

 

[Leo99]

I checked with my wife and she said she would not wear her wedding rings after I passed. She said she might have a bracelet made out of components and she had some ideas already for the design. Hmmm.