Someone who stole from a funeral in Preston last weekend didn’t just take money for burial costs; they also robbed a widow and her 4-year-old daughter of decades' worth of memories of their husband and father.

Hayden Green is the 29-year-old son of the late Jeff Green, 55, a local man who lost his six-year battle to cancer on Feb. 28. During Jeff’s viewing and funeral at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building at 155 N 200 W in Preston on March 6 and 7, someone stole a substantial amount of money donated to the family, Hayden said.

But the younger Green says the worst part about the ordeal isn’t the lost money. What’s most heartbreaking for the Green family, Hayden said, is losing dozens of handwritten cards inscribed with memories of Jeff that the family intended to share with his 4-year-old daughter, Sawyer, as a means of showing her how many people her dad had positively impacted throughout his life.

“My dad’s wife Tiffany of about eight years was never able to have children but they had an oops baby four years ago,” Hayden said. “You have all these people who wrote these notes for my dad at the funeral of their favorite memory of him for Sawyer so that over the years Tiffany could give her these cards and share a piece of my dad with her.

“Whoever took this wicker basket full of cards didn’t just take money from us, they literally robbed a 4-year-old and grieving wife of my dad’s memory. That’s just so frustrating.”

The Preston Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating the stolen money and cards, the department said in a Facebook post Monday.

“If you noticed anything or saw anyone walking away with those cards, please (contact us) the Preston Police Department,” Preston police wrote in their Monday Facebook post. “If you are one that donated, and you did so by check, please contact your bank and try to cancel the check, or if it was cashed, please get the information from your bank as to where it was cashed and dates and times and then (contact us) here at the police department.”

Donors are also requested to contact the police department so that it can create a complete accounting of how much money might be missing, police said.

Several leads have been supplied to the Preston Police Department, Chief Dan McCammon told the Idaho State Journal on Tuesday, but where the money went remains a mystery.

McCammon said the department is aggressively investigating any and all leads, but admitted tracking down whoever stole the cards could prove quite difficult.

“Investigating something like this is extremely hard,” McCammon said. “There is no video and everybody who was there is a witness or potential suspect. We are trying to find any evidence to lead us in the right direction and we will follow any lead that we can get.”

Moreover, McCammon said one of the worst things that can happen in a case like this is for rumors to spread. On Wednesday, Hayden said he had heard some reports that a suspect was in custody related to the theft, but McCammon confirmed police are still investigating and no arrests have yet been made in connection with the case.

What feels like salt in the wounds for the Green family is the fact that Jeff spent a majority of his life serving others, both as a youth and high school football coach and in his profession as an educator who developed an affection for caring for special needs and underprivileged students, Hayden said.

Jeff was born in Pocatello in May 1964 but his parents were living in Preston, which is where Jeff spent most of his formative years. In the early 2000s, Jeff played a significant role in establishing a football team in Preston to compete in the Southeast Idaho Youth Football League based out of Pocatello, Hayden said.

When Hayden was a sophomore in high school, he and his family relocated to Pocatello where Jeff would assume the head coaching position for the Pocatello High School freshman football team. Hayden played quarterback for Pocatello High from 2006 until 2009. In addition to his head coaching responsibilities, Jeff was an assistant offensive coach for the junior varsity and varsity teams during Hayden’s high school football years, Hayden said.

After Hayden graduated, Jeff assumed the head coach position of the Burley High School football team, where he would work for several seasons before moving with Tiffany to Rawlins, Wyoming — the town he was living in for about six years before his passing last month.

Over a five-year span, Jeff worked tirelessly to earn three advanced degrees, said Hayden, obtaining a Master’s of Art and Athletic Administration, a Master’s of Science in Special Education and a Master’s of Science in Education Leadership.

In Wyoming, Jeff served as head of the special needs department at Rawlins High School, Hayden said.

According to Jeff’s obituary, “When teaching those with special needs, Jeff refused to allow the perceived societal, economical and mental limitations of his students stand in the way of their development. Instead, he recognized and upheld the dreams of his students and their desire to thrive and to live a meaningful life. Jeff didn’t simply see people as they were, he saw them as they could be. It was from this place of admiration for human potential that Jeff found the inspiration to push his students to achieve wondrous advances in their education.”

In regards to how much his dad cherished the opportunity to work with students, especially those with special needs, Hayden said, “All of his students loved him so much. While he was sick in the hospital he got several handwritten notes from students who had been struggling that said they missed him and thanked him for basically being the reason they were still enrolled in school.”

Though cancer cut Jeff’s life short, Hayden said his dad formed many lasting friendships in the five-plus decades he was alive, adding that many of the small intricacies or humorous anecdotes from those relationships were theoretically documented forever inside those condolence cards left at Jeff’s funeral.

That is until someone unfortunately decided they deserved those memories more than a 4-year-old girl who just lost her dad and stole them while Hayden and his family were grieving.

As police continue to investigate the matter, Hayden has asked that the person who did steal the cards and money take a second to think about how much Sawyer would appreciate knowing how awesome her dad was and consider returning just the cards, either back to the church where they were stolen or anonymously to the Preston Police Department.

“If you want to keep the money, whatever, but if you could just return the wicker basket with the cards back to the church or at least drop them off at the police station, I know that would mean the world to Tiffany and my sister,” Hayden said.

Anyone with information about the theft can contact the Preston Police Department through direct message on its Facebook page, or by phone at 208-852-2433.