When my Mother, Sheila, passed away, the hospice she was in offered a Memory Bear program. However, we thought all of her clothing had been accidentally donated and that we lost our opportunity with making bears. Four months later as I was going through her suitcases which I thought were empty, I found some of her clothing. I didn't want to bother the hospice, so I thought that I should just do it myself. Within six weeks, I had sewn up five bears and was thrilled to be able to send one to each of my siblings. A couple of weeks later, I had finished four more bears and was able to send one to each of my Mother's sisters and one of her closest nieces. As I was making them and showing them to my friends, several people said they wanted me to make one for them. I made the first Baby Bear with my girlfriend's granddaughter's receiving blankets and all of a sudden had orders to make more bears.

​​​​Much to my delight, Sheila Bears was born!