Dorothy Osterloh, 93, of Freistatt, is pictured hand quilting a keepsake piece for Samuel, the 2-year-old grandson of Tamra Sunby.
Busy hands make for healing hearts
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This lovely butterfly quilt hangs above the bed in the home of Dorothy Osterloh. It has been made with delicate handkerchiefs, folded by Osterloh, to resemble floating butterflies.
ecovering from a loss sometimes takes on many forms. Some might go into a self-imposed hibernation, while others throw themselves into work, spending little time at home, surrounded by memories. For Dorothy Osterloh, 93, of Freistatt, her love of quilting has given her solace following the loss of Cody Sunby, the son of long-time friend of hers, Tamra Sunby, and of her daughter, Edith Harmon. “Tamra and I have been friends for a long time,” said Edith. “When her son, Cody, passed away unexpectedly in October 2019, we were devastated. His son, Samuel, was just 18 months old at the time, and we were at a loss as to what to do.” Cody died from a condition known as hypertrophic cardiac myopathy, a condition in which a portion of the heart
Story by Melonie Roberts
becomes thickened without an obvious cause. This results in the heart being less able to pump blood effectively. Symptoms vary from none to feeling tired, leg swelling, and shortness of breath. Tamra’s sister, Pam Dorton, happened to be sorting through a closet, where she found two antique quilt tops, hand pieced by her mother, Rethal Williams. “I didn’t know what to do with them,” she said. “They were made of flannel. I took it to Edith and asked her to quilt it, so it could be passed along to Samuel. It was supposed to be a secret.” Pam had passed along the other quilt top to her sister Tamra, who, in turn, asked Dorothy to quilt it so it could also be sent to Samuel. “That’s how the secret got out,” Pam said. “We had the same idea. Actually, Tamra was supposed to bring a different quilt top. She didn’t know that I was going to bring one first.” Connection Magazine | 37
