Art of Aging: Pines Village resident makes memory bears to help others remember loved ones

WHITING, N.J. (WPVI) — Paid Sponsor Partnership: Philadelphia Corporation for Aging

For Mary Lou Gilbert, sewing is the thread that’s connected generations of her family.

“My mother was a sewer. My grandmother in Indiana was a seamstress by trade. She came out from Indiana to make my wedding gown,” says Gilbert, who also sews.

When Gilbert lost her husband of 60 years in 2020, she sewed her grief into a memory bear.

She says the bears are made of clothing or an object, like a blanket, that was used by the person who passed on. She used one of her husband’s shirts to make two memory bears.

She says hugging those two bears brings a lot of comfort, “like I have him right here.”

Making a memory to literally hold onto is something she’s been doing for others since 2011.

“I was a hospice nurse,” she says. “And so, I did start it with the patient that I had.”

She says that as she asked more families, most of them would agree to it.

“I have a Simplicity pattern that I’ve been using for years,” she says. “And then I lay it out and I cut it up.”

After that, it’s ready to be put together.

She’s made countless bears over the years and each one of them has a story.

“We can create doggies. There’s a dog over there that’s called Marley,” says Gilbert. “I make bunny rabbits.”

She builds bears at her ‘Handmade with Love’ studio in her residence at Pines Village.

“That makes me relax, but making the bear and putting the bear together, I realized that I’m making something that I can give back to God, because God gave me this. He gave me this talent that I have and I can use it,” she says.

She says it feels good to see recipients’ reactions to her labor of love.

“I enjoy it,” says Gilbert.

She says she hopes the bears provide some relief to the grieving process to make recipients feel better.

In addition to the memory bears, Gilbert also creates bears, dogs and bunnies for the living too, since her beautiful stuffed animals are a favorite among kids as well. She does that through ‘Handmade with Love’ from her residence at Pines Village.

For more information:

Handmade with Love – Pines Village

Pines Village
509 County Road 530
Whiting, New Jersey 08759