In fall 1973 I was a sophomore at Bradley. As a proud member of the Delta Rho chapter I met with the Balfour ring rep for the option to buy a class ring or a Sigma Chi ring. I liked both styles but wanted the best of both fabricated on one ring. When I told the Balfour rep that I wanted the Sigma Chi stone with the raised White Cross, but in the setting of the Bradley ring in lieu of a birth stone, the rep said, “We don’t make that style ring.” I pointed out that the reason I wanted both was because had I not attended Bradley I might not have become a Sigma Chi, and I wanted something special to remind me of two of the best decisions of my life. When I informed him, “But Balfour was a Sigma Chi,” his reply was while that was great, they didn’t make that style ring.
I went on to draft a letter to the Balfour company explaining my dilemma and pointed out, “If L.G. was alive, he would make this ring.” They agreed and made the ring. I wore the ring proudly for 35 years but one night both my wedding ring and customized Delta Rho ring were lostI have not given up on someday being reunited with my ring, as it had my name inscribed on the inside of the band.
~ Rick Scardino, BRADLEY 1976
I had been hoping to buy the official Sigma Chi White Cross ring, but I was still in college, and it wasn't really affordable. Instead, I always kept an eye out for a ring that looked close enough to the real thing. I found my "faux" ring in December 2002 while killing time before an interview for an internship at the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C. I wore it during the interview and every day since. I got the internship, which led to my first job out of college (also at the Endowment), which in turn led to all of my subsequent jobs in the arts. So, I definitely think of the ring as a good luck charm.
~ Adam Natale, AMERICAN 2003
My high school sweetheart gave me the ring when we were sophomores in college as a loving Christmas present. That was in 1974. Three months later she dumped me. I almost threw the ring into the Tennessee River. I’m glad I didn’t. It was a wonderful gift, and the ring still looks good.
~ Significant Sig Kem Hinton, TENNESSEE-KNOXVILLE 1977
I was studying in France when my ring arrived at home in St. Louis. My parents sent it to me, but I had to go to Marseille to get it from Customs. Trying to explain what the ring meant took a little doing in French to the Customs office. He finally gave up and charged me $40 customs duty, and I got it. That was in 1967, and I still have it. The gold has expanded and covers some of the symbols, but I am still very proud to have it.
~ Huck Patterson, VANDERBILT 1969
My father was an Alpha Tau Omega. During college, he purchased a gold ring with the black onyx background base adorned with the ATO Maltese cross. Sometime subsequent to his purchase the cross broke off. He held onto the ring sans cross in his jewelry box for 20 years or so. When I became a Sigma Chi, he gave me the ring. I worked with Buddy Cote at Legacy Deuteron to find and secure a White Cross of Sigma Chi that would fit and properly adorn the otherwise blank pallet of black onyx. It has been proudly worn by a Sigma Chi who later became Fraternity executive director!
~ Order of Constantine Sig Mark Anderson, ILLINOIS 1977
In 1964, David J. Blanford was initiated into Beta Xi of Sigma Chi at the University of New Mexico. He bought himself a Sigma Chi ring with the White Cross and the black background setting and wore the ring for years. David went on to graduate from the master's prosthetic program in dentistry at the University of Missouri-Kansas City dental school. He returned to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to start private practice. He developed liver cancer at 33 and died in 1977. Years later, his nephew at UNM, Joseph Dobrusky Jr., 1985, was being initiated into Beta Xi. The Blanford family gave me Dave's ring to present to Joseph at initiation at the Sigma Chi house, which I did. Joe was thrilled and wore his uncle's ring with pride. A number of years later in Denver, a thief broke into Joe's apartment and stole the ring. It was lost forever!
~ Sim Cook, DDS, NEW MEXICO 1965
I have several Sigma Chi rings, mostly vintage. The first was made in 1915 and is inscribed with the owner's initials and the dates inside in very elaborate calligraphy. The next one was made in the 1930s and features an Art Deco style with small diamonds and rubies surrounding the cross. The next one was made in 1947 and was purchased from the family of the original owner. You can see by the worn patina on the cross that this gentleman wore it every day. This is the ring that I wear most often. The next one was produced in the 1950s and is a very simple design. Lastly, the ring with the blue stone is from Balfour and was made in 1966. It was passed on to me by a dear friend, Order of Constantine Sig Danny Nelson, WYOMING 1969, who served as chapter advisor to the Wyoming chapter for 31 years. He sent it to me just before his recent passing, and I am honored to be its caretaker now. The last ring, I bought it from a gentleman who owned it for 25 years and never wore it. I asked him if he knew when it was made and he had no idea. I got to looking at the photos of it more closely and discovered a 19 on one side and a 35 on the other. Mystery solved.
~ Significant Sig Jeffrey Steinhour, WYOMING 1988
It began as an innocuous post on Facebook in late August 2024. A man named Joey found a ring at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa, California. But what caught my attention? It was a Sigma Chi ring. There was no name inscribed. No chapter or school. Only the initials “G.L.H.” As a retired police detective, I thought tracking down Brother G.L.H. and returning the ring would be a refreshing change. What I assumed would be a quick search turned into a four-week-long investigation.
I contacted Sigma Chi International Fraternity Headquarters. Brother Jeff Burnside, WASHINGTON STATE 1980, with the Sigma Chi Foundation accessed the Sigma Chi database. I also referenced the 2005 membership directory. We found around 80 Sigma Chis with the initials G.L.H. After narrowing the search, the three best possibilities were:
1. Gary L. Heineman, WASHINGTON STATE 1975 (Mission Viejo)
2. Gary L. Hamilton, CAL. STATE-LONG BEACH 1969 (Irvine)
3. Greg L. Hamblin, ILLINOIS WESLEYAN 1979 (Irvine)
Now came the difficult part: contacting these three brothers. After several weeks, I finally heard back from Gary Heineman and Gary Hamilton confirming that the ring did not belong to them. On Sept. 11, Jaren, the son of Greg Hamblin, informed me that his father had passed away a year ago. When I mentioned that the ring was found at Fairview Park, there was a breakthrough. Jaren recalled that his father used to take him to the OC Model Train Engineers in the park when he was a boy, which was only 700 feet away from the very spot the ring was discovered, according to Google Earth.
Jaren wanted to be certain before accepting the ring. He reached out to one of his father’s best friends, who recalled that Greg wore a gold ring. When Jaren showed him photos of the ring, his friend confirmed it was indeed his father’s. I arranged a meeting a couple of weeks later with Joey, Jaren, and Jaren’s brother Joshua in Newport Beach. They were thrilled to hold a very special piece of their late father’s past. Jaren believed the ring had been lost for about 20 years. With the ring back in familial hands, my quest was over.
I want to express my gratitude to my Eta Sigma alumni brothers. While Joey insisted that his true reward was seeing Brother Hamblin’s son smile upon receiving the ring, the Eta Sigma brothers still chose to honor him with a monetary reward for his honesty and integrity. Although I never had the opportunity to meet Brother Greg, I feel like I got to know him in a little way. Poignantly, I first reached out to Jaren just two days after the first anniversary of Greg L. Hamblin’s passing. All honor to G.L.H.
~ Ross Nemeroff, CALIFORNIA-IRVINE 1992
I purchased my ring in the 1980s from an elderly brother while in Fargo, North Dakota, on business; he had no legacy heirs to which to leave it. He warned me, “It's an illegal ring. Not
blessed by Balfour or the Fraternity. I had it made by a local Native Indian artisan based on my design and have worn it for over 50 years.” Due to the significance it had in my heart and obviously in his heart, I had a duplicate made for my son, Will Arrington, NEW MEXICO 2012, and will have one made for the hand of a future brother, 6-year-old grandson Glenn Arrington.
~ Chris Arrington, TEXAS TECH 1984
In January 1977 I got married to a very special woman. I was happy to see 27 brothers at the wedding. As the wedding proceedings went on, we had a reception line, which was great as I shook many hands that night. As the days went on the finger that I wore my Sigma Chi ring on began to swell. After a few more days my finger began to turn purple. I couldn’t get my ring off. I went to a jewelry store that one of my brothers was involved in a family business. We tried all the tricks of the trade to get the ring off — nothing worked. He said, “I think we have to cut it off.” What!? He brought out this little saw and began sawing away. There were multiple cuts to my skin as he was sawing. With a fair amount of blood on the glass of the jewelry case, we finally got the ring off to everyone’s delight. I had the ring repaired and still proudly wear it 55 years after graduation.
~ Curt Larson, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 1971