Parenting

Family Decorates Grandma's Funeral With Over 100 Of Her Handmade Quilts

by Sarah Hosseini
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Originally Published: 

The quilts are constant reminders of her love

In a beautiful tribute of love and life, a family in Upstate New York decorated their beloved family member’s funeral using dozens of her handmade quilts.

Janet White of Morristown, passed away last week at age 84. She was a remarkable woman who ran a dairy farm for several years, was a traveler, gardener, and avid reader. She was also known for making really beautiful quilts.

To honor Janet, her family draped the gorgeous quilts on church pews at her funeral. Her granddaughter, Rachael White, uploaded the photo to Reddit, which quickly went viral and garnered over 1,000 comments.

“I personally have two that she made me which I treasure dearly and use daily,” Rachael tells Scary Mommy. “It’s an amazing reminder of her love for us.”

In her post, she wrote that her grandmother made the quilts for special occasions like graduations and weddings. “Before she passed, she made four more, one for each of her unmarried grandchildren to be given to us on our wedding day.”

That’s a lot of quilting considering that Janet had six children and 13 grandchildren all together. In the post her granddaughter writes, “She treated all of us as her favorites, including my half sister who was not technically her grandchild. That never mattered to this wonderful woman.”

Image via Rachael White

Rachael has many wonderful memories of her grandmother and of growing up in a bigger family.

“My greatest memories of my grandmother were spent growing up with my cousin’s at her house on the river. It always felt like a magical place,” she says.

Not only was granny thoughtful and loving, as mentioned, she also had a penchant for adventure and exploration. “Despite her fathers strong disapproval, she traveled the world for years with my grandfather. They even passed through the iron curtain to visit the USSR in the 1960s.”

The post about Janet, prompted others to remember their grandmothers and reflect on what it means to live a life well lived. Some even got emotional (who can blame them?!)

The best thing about this post is that it shows you a beautiful, multi-dimensional woman, mother, and grandmother who was an inspiration to everyone in her life. She knew how to really love and really live.

Image via Rachael White

“Her quilts adorn our couches, beds, walls, and are a constant reminder of how much she loved us,” writes her granddaughter. “She is my role model and I love and miss her dearly.”

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