WWII Nurse Warmed with a Quilt of Comfort and Love

Recently Hospice of Santa Cruz County’s social worker Nina Garcia and nurse Heather Richardson had the honor of presenting a former World War II nurse with a quilt of comfort and love. “She was smiling from ear to ear and proud (although a little shy) to show it off to her table mates.  She looks so happy and pretty in pink.” shared Richardson.

Hinemoa "Jo" Ruskin is 93 yrs old and lives at Oak Tree Villa. She was a nurse in the Navy during WWII where she served both in France and the United States working at Field Hospital EVAC 106.

Jo’s son said her unit landed at Utah Beach one month after D-Day and followed the front across France and Germany.

When Jo was asked to describe her experiences she said she was in the "infantry that won the war" and was quite proud. " It was very cold and snowy, and I bunked with 5 other women in the same tent. The work was very rewarding, but very, very challenging, the experiences varied widely and there were too many."

Nina said, “She was very excited, and quite deserving!  It is extremely difficult for her to speak, so the information she shared is very precious.”

The quilt was lovingly crafted by members of The Parajo Valley Quilters Association.  The PVQA have made quilts for a variety of non-profit fundraisers for many years and have more than 400 members. They have brought joy and comfort to hundreds of Santa Cruz County residents as a result of their talents and generosity.

Nurse Heather Richardson said, “I think it [the quilt] made her day!” 

Thank you to all who collaborated on creating this loving quilt and HSCC staff who presented it to Jo, it warms our hearts. 

Local Quilters and Hospice of Santa Cruz County Honor and Support Veterans

From the Desk of Cathy Conway
Vice President of Communications & Philanthropy

Hike-Bike for Hospice of Santa Cruz County on August 24th is shaping up to be a great opportunity for the community to remember their loved ones and raise funds for our compassionate care programs. I’d like to share with you some exciting news about one of the programs that will be supported at the event, known as the We Honor Veterans Program.

We are delighted that members of the Pajaro Valley Quilters Association created a beautiful quilt, named Comfort at Pearl Harbor, which will be unveiled on August 24. This stunning handmade quilt is a tribute to all the veterans that Hospice of Santa Cruz County serves in our community and supports our We Honors Veterans Program.

Bea Casey and Betty Whitman present the Comfort at Pearl Harbor quilt to Mike Milward, CEO of HSCC at a luncheon to thank the PVQA for their generosity.

HSCC’s We Honors Veterans program is a partnership with the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Together we are committed to bringing comfort, dignity, and quality of life to veterans in our community.  Our clinical teams are trained to recognize and provide hospice care that is focused on meeting unique needs of veterans.   And we work to educate our veteran community about our services to increase awareness of and access to hospice care.

More about Quilts of Love
The Pajaro Valley Quilters Association (PVQA) members have made quilts for a variety of non-profit fundraisers for many years and have more than 400 members. They have brought joy and comfort to hundreds of Santa Cruz County residents as a result of their talents and generosity. The Pearl Harbor quilt showcases a variety of vintage Pacific Island fabrics that have been quilted in a stunning geometric pattern known as Flying Geese.

This quilt was created by Bea Casey and Betty Whitman.  Bea, who has been sewing since she was 14 years old, donated all of the vintage fabric.  Betty worked on the quilt diligently while she was recovering from a surgery.

Many of the PVQA members are also involved in making lap quilts for disabled and recovering veterans.  The quilts are collected and taken to VA hospitals in Palo Alto and Menlo Park. We have also received many of these beautiful quilts, which we’ve given to veterans who are receiving our hospice services.

Schedule for the “Traveling” Quilt
People can purchase raffle tickets for the Pearl Harbor quilt at the Hike-Bike event and the other events listed below. (More information about the Hike-Bike event is available at hikebike.hospicesantacruz.org). The quilt will “tour” the balance of the year, ending with the winning ticket being selected at our Tree of Lights Ceremony in December.

• August 24th, 2013 – Hike/Bike for Hospice of Santa Cruz County at the State Forest of Nisene Marks 
• September 14th, 2013 – Hospice of Santa Cruz County Memorial Wall Open House 
• December 8th, 2013- Hospice of Santa Cruz County Tree of Lights

All proceeds from the quilt raffle benefit the Hospice of Santa Cruz County We Honor Veterans Program. You do not need to be present to win.