Hospice Granny Sews For Love, Lasting Memories

SAN JOSE, CA — Nothing has made Pam Lincoln so grateful to keep the memory of her beloved husband John Henderson alive than ripping up his many old Grateful Dead T-shirts for the Sew for Love program volunteers to make bears out of them.

It doesn't end there for the die-hard Dead fans. Lincoln is throwing a party in June at her Los Altos home where she will give away 24 stuffed bears sewn with love, grit and nimble fingers to the couple's friends — other Dead heads. There's so much memorabilia in the home Lincoln is dedicating a special room to the revered rock band, who's fearless leader Jerry Garcia has since died.

Henderson, known as "Uncle John," died two years ago of liver cancer, sending Lincoln into a funk until a productive idea was handed to her from the hospice agency to keep his spirit around.

"I wanted to keep his memory alive, and Michelle helped me do that, and for that, I am grateful," Lincoln told Patch. "It's a way to pay tribute so that people could enjoy the memory of him."

Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care in San Jose contracts with Michelle Zeiler, a self-proclaimed "hospice granny," who personally creates "memory bears" and "memory pillows" for its patients. She's even created stuffed crosses.

"The items are created with the patient's clothing, so the family has a piece of their family member that they can carry with them forever, long after the patient has died," Seasons Hospice spokeswoman April Dovorany said.

Seasons Hospice provides bags of clothing from the patients and other materials to make the heirlooms, and Zeiler puts her four volunteers to work.

In six years, Zeiler and the sewing crew have created 18,000 memory items. The requests span the gamut of specialties, interests and momentous occasions including one involving bears decked out in a wedding dress and suit.

"At first, I wasn't sure I could cut up the clothing," Zeiler said.

The clothing of the dead honored by the loved ones left behind represented sacred ground. She doesn't ask her volunteers to do the cutting of the clothes. She does it in case they're too sentimental.

She knows what it's like. The gesture of personal fulfillment is something that prompts her to remember her "grandpa." And now that she's a four-wheelin' granny, she hopes her legacy is passing on her work through others.

Zeiler started sewing with her mother by age 10, recalling with fondness making Easter dresses from beautiful drapery fabric. She even made her Barbie a wedding dress out of old sheets and lace.

To Zeiler, sewing is more than fashion and a leisure activity. It's a passion for her and a lost art to many. For 38 years, she's remained in the industry working for craft shops in sales and more recently teaching beginning sewing in 10 locations. She's even taught Girls Scouts in the San Francisco Bay Area how to sew.

"Sewing has taken a decline," she said.

However, one wouldn't know if from her volunteer output for the hospice agency. The volunteer work feeds her soul. And with National Volunteer Week this month, the recognition comes from the glowing gratification of loved ones who have lost a piece of themselves.

It's a way of turning a "Touch of Grey" into a colorful, lasting tribute.

Sew for Love is a grassroots community project created in 2000 that serves a seven counties in the Bay Area. More information on the grassrooots campaign can be found at love2sew4ever@aol.com.