By Caleb Wortz
Janice Davis (85) has lived in Sapulpa for two years and spends much of her time in the art of quilting. Her most recent creation is a dedication to the fallen men and women during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
At the top of the quilt, is the number of people who were killed during the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941. Toward the bottom is the phrase, “A day that will live in infamy.”
The back contains a myriad of dedications to various people who inspired or were in some way involved with the quilting process. The primary inspiration behind her making this quilt was a book, “All The Gallant Men” by Donald Stratton. The book is a memoir from a surviving sailor from the USS Arizona, one of twenty vessels damaged or destroyed in Pearl Harbor.
“I was a latecomer,” Janice said. “Most people started early but I was in my 50s when I started and I’m 85 now so I’ve been quilting a good 30 years.”
When asked how many quilts she’s made, she answered with, “There’s no telling.” Her quilting roots go back to temporarily working for a quilt shop when her youngest son of eight children was in high school.
Janice has almost never sold these quilts and instead prefers to give them away. She says the only one she did sell—and only because the person insisted—still bothers her to this day. She views quilting as one of God’s gifts which inspired her to make them for charity.
“I was donating these little quilts to the Hillcrest Burn Center because Saturday after Thanksgiving, our son and his wife’s house burned to the ground, “Janice said. “He was in the burn center there at Hillcrest.”
Janice’s son Marty and his wife.
This recent tragedy left her son in the burn center as well as his wife who unfortunately passed away in a coma at the hospital. Her son had gone back into the building to rescue his wife, receiving burns to over 60% of his body.
Janice appeared excited about the growing Sapulpa scene as she lives downtown where she hopes to continue her quilting.
“The reason I make quilts and give so many of them away instead of selling them is because my quilting ability is a gift from God, and it should be shared,” Janice said.
