Tony Went Remembrance Quilt Square
www.seester.com/tony/quilt/

Dear Friends,

To honor his 28th birthday, please take a moment 
to write a note to Tony Went.

All our notes will be assembled on a quilt square 
that will be added to The Remembrance Quilt, an 
ongoing project of Hospice of Northern Virginia. 
You can pick up the material for your note at 
Tony’s party (at Aunt Lynn's) on March 9th, or 
you can request a piece of material from me, 
Tory Cohen (303-320-6987 or torymatt@mindspring.com). 

Hospice of Northern Viriginia explains the quilt as follows:

"The Remembrance Quilt was created by the Bereavement 
Program at VNA Community Hospice as an instrument to 
promote growth and healing for those grieving the 
loss of a loved one.  It offers an opportunity to 
honor the memories of those who have died.  Our 
Remembrance Quilt continues to grow, as we have 
merged into Hospice of Northern Virginia. ...All 
quilt squares will be sewn together in sections 
and hang in our Hospice offices.  The Remembrance 
Quilt will be presented during special events throughout 
the year in our communities.  I hope you will join 
this very special healing ritual.  ...I am sure 
we will continue to pattern a tapestry of painful 
loveliness, filled with stories and love as We 
Continue to Care."

Incidentally, I saw The Remembrance Quilt at a 
Hospice function in 1998, and it is a very touching 
memorial.  I spoke with the program coordinator, 
and she feels that it would still be appropriate 
for us to contribute a square for Tony since he 
was a cancer patient in the Northern Virginia 
community, even though he was not under Hospice 
care.  If you would like more information about 
the Hospice organization, you can link 
to  http://www.hospiceonline.org/default.htm 
(no quilt information on the site, though).

The completed quilt square will include notes from 
Tony's family, friends, and coworkers.  Take the 
piece of white fabric you will receive and write 
your message on it with an indelible marker or sew 
or glue onto it whatever you think is most fitting.  
If everything works out as planned, each piece of 
fabric will be tied with a colorful ribbon to the 
stem of a music note sewn to the quilt square.  The 
head of the note will actually be a pocket, so the 
note can be rolled up and inserted into the head 
of the music note.  This way, people who come to 
see the quilt can take out individual notes if 
they want to read them, but it will maintain a 
certain degree of confidentiality, too.  If an 
overwhelming number of you choose to participate, 
I may just make one big music note/pocket and tie 
all the notes to its stem.  We'll have to wait and 
see.  (For those of you who are die-hard nonconformists, 
anything that can be tied to a piece of ribbon and then 
be inserted in a small pocket will do--it doesn't *have* 
to be attached to a piece of white fabric!)  

After everyone's notes have been received and the 
square has been assembled, I'll send it to Tony's 
parents so they can see it without having to wait 
for their next trip to Virginia.  They will send 
it back to Virginia so it can be joined to the 
other squares, and then folks who want to see the 
quilt can go to the Hospice offices and have a look. 

If you choose to finish your note during Tony's 
birthday party, please put it in a self-addressed 
stamped envelope (don't seal the envelope!) if you 
would like me to eventually send you a picture of 
the completed square.  Aunt Lynn will send me a 
package with the notes that are completed at the party.  
For those of you who will not be at the party or who 
want more time to work on your note, please send your 
finished product to me at the following address:  
188 Pontiac Street, Denver, CO 80220.  
Likewise, if you would want a picture, send a SASE.

Lastly, Hospice invites you to send a story with your 
quilt piece telling about your loved one and the 
memories you have captured in the quilt.  This story 
could serve one of several purposes. 

 1. You may seal the story in an envelope addressed 
 to Sherry Showalter, the Bereavement Care Coordinator, 
 if you wish it to be confidential.  It will then be sent 
 unread to the Hospice offices when the square is returned 
 to them.

2.  If you wish to share your story with only certain 
friends or with Tony's parents, you could send it to 
them via e-mail or regular mail.

3.  If you want to share your story with everyone 
else participating in the making of the quilt square, 
you may leave the story in the unsealed SASE, and I 
will make photocopies to send to everyone along with 
a picture of the square.

I hope that many of you will decide to join in the 
creation of this small memorial to a dear friend.  
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, 
and please forward this e-mail to anyone I may have 
left out--especially other singing buddies, classmates, 
or coworkers.

Best wishes,

Tory Cohen