PLATTSMOUTH - On Oct. 24, 2023, Plattsmouth native Ginger Tuttle faced one of the worst tragedies a mother can face.

Ginger’s 43-year-old daughter Kari McCollum suddenly died that day in her Council Bluff’s home just a few blocks  from the hospital.

Ginger: “She hadn’t been feeling well and went to the bathroom. She fell and hit the bathtub. The paramedics came and were taking care of her. While taking her to the ambulance, she suddenly stopped breathing.”

Kari’s death affected Ginger as well as Kari’s other siblings, Bobbie Sue McCollum and Garrick McCollum, both registered nurses.

In her grief, Ginger decided to create five quilts to memorialize Kari using the primitive artwork her daughter made for the family’s annual calendar.

Ginger: “Every year it was something different. She wouldn’t pick a calendar theme, instead one that would represent that month.  Kari has always drawn and painted. When she was younger, she was also into cake decorating. She just had that kind of eye. She also liked drawing comics and superheroes. Some pieces were very artsy.”

Making the quilts involved an extensive process in addition to sewing.

Ginger: “First, we needed to scan the images from seven to eight calendars that I was able to get off my computer and my sister’s computer. Then, we had to take each image and remove the month printed on each. We sized the images to make the blocks 7.5 by ten inches.”

 

She also incorporated an image of Irving, a fake skeleton Kari owned, and a black cat.

Ginger: “In 2023, I went to the library and printed each block on sublimation paper and ironed each onto white cotton/polyester squares.”

Ginger’s mother, 89-year-old Margaret Hall of Plattsmouth, helped her piece the blocks together.

Ginger:  “Together we made sure that my family had something to remember Kari by. Memory quilts are a big thing, and I thought it would be a nice tribute to who Kari was.”

Two 7.5-feet by 10-feet quilts have been completed and delivered to Ginger’s grandchildren in Council Bluffs, however, she is not finished yet.

Ginger:  “I’ll make one for her sister, brother and myself.”

Each quilt is one-of-a -kind just like Kari.

Ginger: “She had a big heart. She loved Halloween. It was her favorite holiday. It’s very therapeutic when you’ve lost someone to put that energy into something positive. I think Kari would be happy to know that my mother and I loved her artwork and made the quilts.”