The past few months have been challenging for Reverence Jewelry owners Cheryl Eads and Erik Dolvik.

In early September, Dolvik was diagnosed with throat cancer and has since undergone surgery and radiation.

Eads operated their store on the corner of Pioneer Way and Harborview Drive with some help from a former manager who filled in on occasion.

Then the second blow hit: Eads and Dolvik got a call from police at 1:30 a.m. Dec. 11 to notify them that their store had been burglarized. Thieves broke the glass on the front door and stole loose gems and silver.

“A big chunk of silver,” Eads recalled.

No arrests have been made, but a nearby video camera caught a potential suspect vehicle on film. The glass in the front door has been replaced with an unbreakable material and a special security system has been implemented.

“We are still here,” Eads said. “We’re not going anywhere. We believe in God and prayer — this is only temporary.”

Eads and Dolvik met at a gem show in Tucson, Ariz., through a mutual friend in 2000. They have been together ever since.

“He is the love of my life ... the nicest man I have ever known,” Eads said.

They started their business together and retained the title “Reverence Jewelry,” since Eads loved the meaning of the word, “looking at life with awe and respect.”

Dolvik is a graduate gemologist, and together they work with colorstones and rare and unusual gems.

“We have a Russian Alexandrite, a reddish stone that actually turns colors, and Larimer, a recently discovered gem from the Dominican Republic that is an opaque color of the Caribbean, just to name a couple of our unusual gems,” Eads said. “We carry a vast array of jewelry, not all high-end — some start at $5 and up. We have beaded work and a lot of sterling silver.”

Even with the economy, Eads said they get a lot of tourist business during the summer.

“We offer a great layaway plan with 20 percent down and monthly payments to make our jewelry affordable to everyone,” she said.

Dolvik is recovering and spending as much time in the store as his energy allows.

“We love the St. Anthony cancer center,” Eads said. “They say they have never seen a patient with a more positive attitude than Erik — he believes in mind over matter and has yet to take one pain medication.”

“We just want to thank our community and our customers for all the support they have given to us during these months,” she added. “It has been incredible. I had a whole turkey dinner waiting for me one day and have no idea who did it — that is the kind of help we have been getting.”