In Memory Of My Mother, Marie Elizabeth (Pignone) Randazzo:

Thank you for taking the time to visit with, and take part in keeping my mother’s spirit alive.  This memorial was created in hopes to have a place for all my mother’s friends and family to come and to recall and remember everything about our Marie, a.k.a. Dolly.  My intention is to revive the stories of her life through her family and friendships with whom she so dearly loved and treasured.  This will be a celebration of her life, privately, for those who love and miss her, online.

The loss of my beautiful mother has left a hole in not only me, but in all of you, whom I know share a very special kind of love and friendship for her.  So please, SHARE your story  about our Marie, our “Dolly,” and come back often to share in what she was and still is to others.  I am eternally grateful for your constant support of me over the last year and a half, and now, for your contribution of her life.

THE QUILT PROJECT:
Just several months after I lost my mother, I was visiting with one of her radiation nurses, Linda, with whom my mother and I became quite close with over her treatments.  Linda and I have become even closer and I am so thankful for this friendship.  While sitting on the bench outside of Countryside Cancer Center one morning, talking about Ma and her laugh, and her spirit, I told Linda I was so torn about what to do with her clothing.  Though I had separated it for my other siblings, there was still alot of which I did not want to give away, or throw away.  There was just no way.  These are the clothes she wore and worked so hard in.  So Linda offered me a truly genius suggestion which was to have a QUILT made out of her clothing.  I was in awe, and so very thankful for such an inspiring suggestion.
So while I was out of work, I sat down and designed the quilt for what I wished it to represent, and to look like.  Since my mother got so much happiness the last years of her life, and because she saved so many clothes, I was able to piece together all the outfits she wore on very special occasions and trips, which would become the “blocks” created for the quilt.  I found Trina, of Sew to Remember Quilts, who not only captured exactly what I wanted to do with my ideas, but truly put her all into making the quilt perfect in every way.  UPDATE:  The quilt project has been completed, and the BACKGROUND OF THIS ENTIRE ONLINE MEMORIAL IS THE ACTUAL QUILT WITH MY MOTHER’S CLOTHING IN ALL THOSE MEMORIALIZED BLOCKS.  There are photos of it laid out in the Memories section of this memorial.