Frequent commenter Svensker passes along the sad news that her friend, Mary Catherine, who we all pitched in to help out a few months back, has passed:
My friend MC – Mary Catherine Lamb – for whom John sponsored a fundraiser last winter, lost her battle with cancer on August 15.
MC’s passing was a shock to everyone. Her prognosis had been very good. She had recently been diagnosed with some tiny tumors in her brain but the doctor expected treatment to be effective. At first everything went well – in fact, in typical MC fashion, she thought that the aluminum mask used to target the radiation was so beautiful that she turned it into a sculpture. But an infection took hold in her weakened state and neither antibiotics nor her body could stop it. She died very quickly with many loved ones around her.
I never met MC in person. We were on-line buddies, both denizens of vintage clothing chat boards where her knowledge, her wit, her sharp eye, her kindness, her quirkiness, her talent, her bravery in the face of her disease and her bottomless sense of humor endeared her to all. Here is how she described herself in one of her bios:
I’ve lived in Portland for 30 years, still ardently love it here. I sell vintage part-time, am a longtime copy editor, and have been making and exhibiting oddball quilts for the wall since the early ’90s. I’m a bookworm, a collector of oddments, and a cat lover. I’m a former union organizer, waitress, library clerk, dishwasher and noncommercial radio programmer.”
She was amazingly talented. The International Quilt Study Center and Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, purchased a number of her “oddball quilts for the wall.” In fact, her “Sock Monkey Jamboree” will be included in the exhibition opening on November 21, “Perspectives: Art, Craft, Design and the Studio Quilt.” Here is the sock monkey quilt (she was inordinately fond of sock monkeys!) :
Another quilt owned by the IQSCM was one of a series she did on Biblical themes – with her own unique vision, of course. Here is her Whore of Babylon:
And a detail showing the Whore’s beautiful face:
She had recently received a commission for a quilt in memory of the artist Robert Rauschenberg, which she was very excited about. Unfortunately, we will never get to see that quilt. But as another of MC’s many on-line friends said, just imagine what she’s working on in heaven!
I just wanted to reiterate how much the financial support and the kindness of the Balloon Juicers meant to her and how you made an enormous difference in the last year of her life. She didn’t have to worry about money while she was coping with her disease — that was an extraordinary gift from all of you. Thank you all.
God speed, MC.
General Winfield Stuck
This brings tears, RIP MC.
We will fight to bring quicker care for those who need it NOW without the worry of paying bills. And I personally will think of you, though I didn’t know you, as the battle to bring compassion for those who suffer goes on.
Cat Lady
Such beautiful work could only come from a beautiful soul. May the forces of good be replenished with her passing, and always remember that karma’s a bitch, so be nice.
DougJ
Very sorry to hear this.
Laura W
Gorgeous tribute. Sobering news.
arguingwithsignposts
Rest in Peace. My heart goes out to her family and friends. I hope they can take some comfort from the well-wishers here.
As I can attest, the BJ community is one of the things that shows the value of an online support system.
I regret that I was not able to donate to this worthy cause at the time.
Jay in Oregon
Svensker:
My best thoughts and feelings go out to you and everyone whose life she touched. She sounds like an extraordinary woman that I would have been privileged to know.
Ash Can
Thanks for sharing that lovely tribute, Svensker, and condolences to you and to all of MC’s family and friends. She was obviously quite a gal, a real inspiration. It’s gratifying to know that we were a help to her.
Leelee for Obama
So sorry to hear this. I’m a quilt-lover and her sock-monkey quilt is just my kind of thing. Flights of Angels, MC. and Svensker, I hope you are OK.
The Grand Panjandrum
RIP. I’m glad she was with people she loved at the end of her life. Condolences to her family and friends.
Trinity
Rest in Peace. I’m very sad to hear of this.
Genine
I am so sorry to hear about MC. I am very glad that we were able to help her a bit. She sounds like a lovely and talented free-spirit. RIP.
And… this gets me even more fired up about health care reform. Life and death are not commodities.
shelley matheis
My God, those quilts are beautiful.
I’m a relative new-comer to Balloon Juice. My sympathies to all of you here who supported and helped her.
Notorious P.A.T.
I’m very sorry to hear this (
Xel
She looks a bit like my aunt, which makes her passing a little more impacting on me. I hope that didn’t sound insensitive.
A touching obit. My condolences are all I can offer.
Rest in peace Mary.
freelancer
You have my deepest sympathies Svensker.
Polish the Guillotines
Wow. That’s very sad. You have my condolences, Svensker.
Indylib
This is sad news. Thanks so much for sharing the picures and tribute Svensker. Condolences to you and her family and friends.
Jackie
I’m sorry for your loss. I’m glad we could help.
Let’s try to build a system that takes care of people without sending them to bankruptcy. Keeping this reality in mind will help us to keep fighting when the crazy people make us want to tune it all out.
ominira
Rest in peace MC. Svensker, sorry for your loss.
Emma
Those quilts and your wonderful memories will be a great memorial. I’m sorry for your loss.
TEL
How very sad. What a beautiful tribute. She reminds me of my aunt, who passed on several years ago, who was also a quilter, and a wonderful free spirit.
Free At Last
Svensker, Thanks from this quilt lover for your beautiful tribute and for giving us the opportunity to help this lovely woman.
Dreggas
My condolences to her family and friends and to you Svensker.
Calming Influence
My condolences. What an fun, artistic person she must have been; you were lucky to know her.
And judging by those few quilts alone, she clearly left this world a better place.
Comrade Nikolita
RIP Mary Catherine. :(
Tsulagi
RIP, Mary Catherine.
That was a very well-written and heartfelt tribute to your friend, Svensker.
gnomedad
Wow, those are beautiful. So sorry for your loss.
Crashman06
My sympathies to Svensker, and all who knew MC.
zzyzx
So sorry to hear this :(
Joe Lisboa
My sympathies and condolences.
YellowJournalism
Echoing the many well-wishes and sincere sympathy…
ironranger
I agree that such beautiful quirky art comes from a special soul. I’m always sad when people like her have to go so soon. With all the ugliness that surrounds us, we need a lot more with her gift of seeing things in a different way & creating art to share what she saw with the rest of us.
AnneS
So very sorry for your loss.
jules
MC was an awesome person (never met her in person we were “online” buds) and I’m still amazed that she is gone. Just a few weeks ago she was rallying me in dealing with my own health issues.
I’ll miss her very much even if she did love her some creepy sock monkeys.
geg6
So sad. My condolences to you, Svensker, and to MC and her family and friends.
The great thing is that she made such an impact, thanks to her talent and the Toobz. She’ll be remembered by many people who she never met and that is a wonderful thing.
I am completely in love with the sock puppet quilt! So adorable! And nothing makes me happier than a quilt. My grandmother was a quilter and I take great pride in the one quilt I have from her.
And just one of those silly coincidence things…I love that you called her MC. My younger sister is also named Mary Catherine and she is also called MC.
Carnacki
My condolences.
South of I-10
May she rest in peace. Her quilts are just amazing. This sad news strengthens my resolve to fight for change in our health care system.
jules
Oh, and here is a great video that Oregon Public Broadcasting did last year at her home:
http://www.opb.org/programs/artbeat/videos/view/26-Quilter-M-C-Lamb
burnspbesq
The population of Heaven has grown.
Deepest sympathies to all who knew and loved her.
What kind of a fucking country forces people to beg for money from strangers on the Internet to pay for health care?
DBrown
Deeply sorry for your loss :(
GReynoldsCT00
I’m so sorry Svensker, my best to you, her family and friends. The world lost quite a lady.
Krissed Off
My deepest condolences to Mary Catherine’s friends, family and loved ones for this untimely loss.
Brachiator
My condolences to you and to all who were fortunate to have MC as part of their lives.
ruemara
So saddening. Sorry for your loss, Svensker and all who loved MC.
Trollhattan
Very sorry to read this. My condolences to Svensker and all who knew and loved her.
kid bitzer
this is deeply, deeply freaky.
i now realize that i knew mc, back in portland, 30 years ago.
not well; we probably only talked once or twice at parties. but my close friends were house-mates with her close friends, etc. small circles.
damn. she was a lovely, lyrical, sly and whimsical woman. i always thought of her as a librarian, but i guess that was just one among many jobs.
and we were all a lot younger then. damn.
sweet sleep, mc. you’re going to love how many cats there are in heaven.
schrodinger's cat
Svensker, I am so sorry for your loss. RIP MC.
Da Bomb
My condolences, even though I didn’t know her. I am sure that I missed out meeting such a talented lady. Svensker has said such wonderful things about her. And with all this outpouring of grief that’s speaks volume about the type of person she was.
RIP.
donovong
My condolences. May she rest in peace.
WereBear
I’m so sorry about this. (I missed whenever the fundraiser was in one of my periodic off-line times.) I have a soft spot for quilters.
Ah, man. I know it would sound funny, but that’s much too young to go.
Billy K
This sucks.
Yet another reminder we need to pass the public option.
Rest in Peace, MC.
Evinfuilt
Sorry to hear of the passing, happy to hear she was surrounded by friends and family.
flukebucket
And so it goes……..
General Winfield Stuck
Hummingbird livecam on for awhile.
Svensker
@kid bitzer:
That is amazing. The circle is wide.
Xecky Gilchrist
How terrible! My condolences.
jacy
My condolences to all who knew MC and enjoyed her art.
A reminder to cherish the time we have with all those we love.
kid bitzer
@svensker,
well, i dropped out of her picture decades ago. you actually knew her in recent times. your loss is surely the greater.
as to my loss–well, i think hopkins may have my number on this one:
Margaret, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By & by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you wíll weep & know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow’s springs are the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What héart héard of, ghóst guéssed:
It is the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.
given how self-centered i am, it’s probably a much younger kid i mourn for.
but maybe there’s some there for mc, too.
Demo Woman
My condolences to MC’s family and friends also.
John, thank you for letting us know.
Anne Laurie
Those are my people, sigh. Condolences, Svensker. It’s a well-known fact that Death is a cat-lover, so Mary Catherine must’ve had a lovely chat on her last voyage.
Va Highlander
My condolences to her many friends and loved ones.
I must say the “Whore of Babylon” quilt is amazing.
jl
My condolences to her friends and family.
Elroy's Lunch
I wish I had the words to express how sad I feel but I don’t. My condolences to her friends, family and the community that knew her.
Demo Woman
@jules: That was wonderful. Thank you for sharing the link with us.
SGEW
[speechless in the face of eternity]
Bad Horse's Filly
@Anne Laurie: I was kind of thinking the same thing.
This made me very sad. But what a beautiful tribute, Svensker. Her quilts are as beautiful as her soul.
And once again the community of BJ proves how wonderful and caring they are as well. That’s why I stop by.
linda
my sincere condolences to Mary Catherine Lamb’s family and friends….
J.D. Rhoades
May light eternal shine on her, and may all who loved her carry her story forward.
Poopyman
Thanks Svensker, for that tribute, and I’m sorry for your loss. Our loss, I should say, because she’s touched every one of us here, either now or somewhere online.
A Mom Anon
Oh no,this is awful. I’m so sorry for your loss Svenster. What a lovely lady,so artistic and creative.
Steeplejack
From scraps of fabric
And the endless spool of thread
Hand and heart make worlds
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
This is so sad to read, I am sorry for your loss Svensker. I hope her family and you are doing well in dealing with this.
Rest in peace Mary Catherine Lamb.
** Atanarjuat **
I’m deeply sorry to hear about Mary Catherine’s passing, Svensker. It wasn’t her time to go, but I’m glad to hear that she was surrounded by those who loved her at the very end.
By the way, it was when you announced your friend’s financial straits back then that I soon stopped the wingnut spoof on BJ. Some things just can’t be laughed about, and I wish MC had remained with us to continue laughing and creating her art.
Thanks for passing this info along, Svensker, and my condolences to you and MC’s family.
-A
Joy
So sorry to hear about MC. What a talented and loved lady. Condolences to you Svensker and to her family.
Ivan Ivanovich Renko
Condolences, Svensker- a beautiful tribute to a beautiful human beaing.
canuckistani
My sympathies to her family and friends, and my admiration for the BJ posse who made something good come out of the internet.
slag
Very sad. And such amazing work.
slag
Also, gotta love a person who is inordinately fond of sock monkeys.
valdivia
yes very sad. my deeply felt condolences.
Tax Analyst
This whole thread is a wonderful and warm tribute. It is awash with the best of the human spirit and soul.
There are times when BJ is just a convenient, comfortable and clever place to hang out and snark.
And there are other times when it supplies a bit of the tonic we all need sometimes to wake up our Better Angels and get them off their asses.
Zuzu's Petals
So very sorry to hear this news.
satby
A beautiful tribute to a beautiful person. She’ll live on even in those of us who only knew her through Svensker.
My condolences to all touched by MC’s passing.
anie
My condolences. May her memory be eternal!
BethanyAnne
All I can think is to echo the sorrow. I love the photo with the flower glasses :-)
bystander
Condolences, Svensker, on the loss of your friend. Sympathies all around to those who knew Mary Catherine only online, as well as to her friends and family in the real (as opposed to virtual) world.
Keith G
Folks like MC are inspirational. So much talent; so much abilility to touch others. I am in awe.
Hugs, Svensker.
asiangrrlMN
Svensker, my deepest condolences on the passing of a dear friend. MC, fly swiftly to the other side. You will not be forgotten.
wil
I worked with her briefly as a copyeditor. She knew AP style better than AP. She was nice. Glad it happened fast.
bye MC
Batocchio
Condolences.