September 7, 2010

Recently, one of my customer’s husbands asked me if I could point to the single most important thing about my career in quilting.  My answer was that the friends I’ve made because of my chosen career path have been the single highlight, outshining other accomplishments.  He was surprised.
 
My dear friend, Dorothy O’Toole, passed away this past Saturday, September 4, 2010.  Many of you knew Dot because she worked for Heartbeat Quilts for 10 years, traveled with us to the Paducah Quilt Show several years, and attended Quilt Camp dozens of times.
 
Dot and Bill have 5 children, 17 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren.  She was obviously, a busy woman.  Yet she always made time for others in her life, helping friends in need and volunteering at the hospital.  Dot knew everyone.  Even when customers would come to the store from afar she would start talking with them and, of course, she would know someone from their town.  It might be the woman who played the organ at their church, or a distant relative, or a doctor, etc.  We always laughed about that.
 
Dot was a friend of mine before she became an employee.  She made her first quilt with me using fabric from her own mother’s stash.  She, in the old days, had difficulty making up her mind about fabric selection.  Our mutual friend, Carolyn, would say “Helen, just tell her what to do, otherwise we’ll be here all day”.  So I did.  She would visit Heartbeat so frequently that I finally had to hire her.  It was one of the best decisions of my life.  And the funny part is that she wound up assisting customers in their fabric selection.
 
She cared.  Dot helped me in caring for my own mother.  She lived near me and so many times, when I’d be returning home late from a lecture and couldn’t get my mom on the phone, I’d call Dot (sometimes very late) and she would go to my house to check it out.  When things got rough, she gave me strength to go forward.
 
She wrote the most incredible handwritten notes to me, which I keep.  She thanked me for everything, especially taking her to see the Rockettes in Boston.
 
She encouraged me to aspire to new heights.
 
She recognized when people made sacrifices for others.
 
She recognized the importance of business acumen.
 
She would go for a walk and clean up our parking lot.
 
She wore silly hats, like her famous Lobster Hat.
 
She quilted a lot, sometimes reinventing patterns, like her Interrupted Interlocking Squares quilt.
 
She never complained.  She died at home, peacefully.  She epitomized grace under pressure.  I can hear her now, saying “Helen, stop crying, get over it, and get back to work”.

 I am joined by all Heartbeat employees, past and present, in saying that we will never forget Dorothy O’Toole.