THE MEMORIAL SQUARES PAGE 1

This Memorial Square comes to us from Lauren in California in honor and memory of her father, George Paul Stergis, who died of COVID-19. Lauren writes: George Paul Stergis was born on July 12, 1927 in Providence, Rhode Island.  He was the baby of 7 children and grew up in the poverty that was the Great Depression.  George was working selling newspapers on the streets as young as 7 years old to help support the family.  He was eligible for the military at the end of WWII, so he was sent with the Army to the devastated city of Frankfurt, Germany and the aftermath of the war.  He came back, met and married my mother.  He had 4 children, built the home that we lived in on his own and started a business that sold windows/doors and hardware.  He could fix anything and was often engaged in a project to make the house better or nicer.  He never graduated high school, but read voraciously and was a crackerjack at math doing percentages in his head.  He and I were very close.  We spent time playing basketball, sailing, playing chess, and ice skating as a child.  As an adult, he was a regular in my home.  We enjoyed many meals, bicycle rides, boating and long walks.  His favorite color was blue and he was as honest as that color.  He was kind and caring.  Whenever someone was sick or in the hospital, he was the one who visited.  And not just once.  I remember him sitting with his brother helping him to speak again after a stroke.  He was a constant caregiver to another brother after a triple bypass. And when my sister was in her last years with MS, he became a helper to her as well even though they had never been close.   He was no cook, but made the best blueberry pancakes every Sunday morning.  He had no religion, but his viewpoint was not limited to what could be.  He was a Patriots Fan and we spent many a halftime discussing the game.  He understood when I left Rhode Island 6 years ago to seek a better life for myself and my grown son in California.  He was a good man, husband and a father.  Moreover, he was a friend to me.  He died of pneumonia from Covid-19 on June 24, 2020. We will honor and remember George on the Covid Memorial Quilt. 

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This Memorial Square comes to us from Carole in Texas in honor and memory of her mother-in-law, Donna Jean Sachs Long, who died of COVID-19. Carole writes: I love the idea of honoring loved ones lost to this virus. My mother-in-law, Donna Sachs Long, loved to quilt. She is from the St. Louis, Missouri area and recently died of the COVID virus. She loved the bird Cardinal and it was everywhere in her assisted living room. We will honor and remember Donna on the Covid Memorial Quilt.