The following is an article as it appeared in the York Daily Record on August 4th 2005. Use the scroll bar to see the whole article. There are also some good pictures that appeared in the article.

Cuddling with comfort
(Aug 4, 2005)
Janet Keller eases the pain of grieving parents with teddy bears and old clothes
By NICKI LEFEVER
Daily Record/Sunday News
Thursday, August 4, 2005
Lori Crouse Klauber - YDR

Janet Keller remembers the day her son, Joe, picked the pink and green striped shirt out of a bag of hand-me-downs from a neighbor.

"Joe said, 'I want this one,' right away," Keller said.

He wore the button-down oxford in his last family picture, the last family picture Janet Keller wants to be a part of.

Joe Keller died at 14 after trying to save a friend from a low-head dam along the Conewago Creek near the family's Dover Township home. It's been 11 years, and the hurt is still strong for Janet and her husband, Dave. He was their youngest son.

Like the Kellers, there are numerous sets of parents grieving the loss of their children, but Janet Keller has found something little to offer a lot of comfort. Stuffed bears. Not just any stuffed bears, but personalized bears created out of the loved one's clothing.

She used the shirt to make a stuffed memory bear that sits on the back of her sofa. She found the shirt in Joe's closet after he died with the sleeves still rolled up. It gives her something to snuggle with and talk to when she misses Joe.

"It's better to have the bear," Keller said. "Hugging a shirt would be a little weird."

Keller saw the bears at The Compassionate Friends conference in Hollywood in the summer of 2004. The Kellers are the leaders of the York Chapter of TCF, a support group for parents who have lost their children. Keller thought, "Hey I can sew," and started making them for her three surviving children, Tom, Elizabeth and Michael.

She used a well-worn Washington Redskins jersey of Joe's for Michael's bear because it used to be his. She used a Camp Tuckahoe staff shirt that once belonged to Tom but fell into Joe's hands for Tom's bear. She used a Hobie-brand T-shirt of Joe's for Elizabeth's bear because that was her nickname for her brother.

She presented the bears to her children on the 10th anniversary of Joe's death, Aug. 21, 2004. They were surprised and touched to receive the bears to remember their brother.

From there, it exploded, and Janet makes Joe's Memory Bears for people all over the county with the help of her husband, who is the designated stuffer. He also purchased a new Singer sewing machine at Christmas. They've already made close to 150, many of them gifts. She doesn't advertise, but word-of-mouth keeps them busy.

Keller feels connected to each bear. When the clothes get dropped off, she tries to find out a little bit of background so the bear has more meaning. She sometimes spends hours moving the pattern around. It takes her a little while to cut into the clothing -she is afraid she might mess up. Sometimes she cries.

"It's worth the tears," she said. "I know how meaningful they are to the people."

Keller knows what these people are going through, and anything she can do to help is enough for her, even hours of hand sewing special fabrics. The garment's buttons sometimes become the eyes and a pocket or tag is added decoration.

Faye Buckingham lost her son Eric in September. It is still too hard for her to go to the meetings and talk about her grief, but the bears have brought her and her family a lot of comfort.

"It's awesome," she said. "When I need a hug, it's there. I talk to it a lot."

Janet made Buckingham's bears out of Eric's racing jacket. She put the little insignia on the chest and the tag on the back of the shirt.

When Keller originally had the idea to offer making the bears for others, she ran it by the original chapter leader, Lois Trayer.

"She got teary-eyed," Keller said. "She wished she had a piece of clothing from her son."

Trayer's son Todd Boeckel died 27 years ago, and any clothing that wasn't taken by his friends was lost over the years.

"I just didn't think I had anything," Trayer said. "I was kind of depressed about it."

Then her daughter said she had a sweater of Todd's. It is the same sweater Todd is wearing in the picture Trayer has hanging in her living room. Keller said it was the old fisherman-type knit.

"It took me four to five hours to cut into it. Do I want this in or that?" Keller said. "This was the only thing she had and it upset me."

Keller eventually made two bears, one small and one large, for Trayer and her daughter. There was a stain on the sweater that Keller strategically placed behind the ear on the larger bear. Trayer thought that was very special.

"I have this bear sitting in my living room and I see it and I just don't know how to explain the feeling that I have," she said. "The bear is on one side of me and the picture is on the other side and it is like Todd is looking at me. It makes me feel close to him."

Reach Nicki Lefever at 771-2101 or nlefever@ydr.com.

ABOUT THE BEARS

What: A bear made out of the clothing of a deceased loved one.

Cost: $25 for large, $20 for small. For every bear purchased, $5 is donated to The Angel of Hope, an angel statue to be erected at the meeting place of the York Chapter of The Compassionate Friends in remembrance of the children lost.

Required: A piece of clothing or a blanket.

Contact: Janet Keller at 292-6046 or visit http://www.geocities.com/joesmemorybears


EXCERPT

I want to tell all of you who have entrusted me with your child's most precious belongings, that it is very difficult for me to make the first cut into them, knowing what they have meant to each of you. As I make each bear, it is made with love. To see each one as it is created, they all seem to have their own personality. No two are ever the same, even when they are made out of the same piece of clothing. Each one is a little bit different, just like our children.
-FROM THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS NEWSLETTER BY JANET KELLER


THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS

The group provides support for parents who have lost their child of any age. The York Chapter meets from 7 to 9 p.m. the second Monday of the month at Zion United Methodist Church in West York (across from the old Delco Plaza.) For details, call Dave and Janet Keller at 292-6046 or visit http://www.compassionatefriends.- com.

Janet Keller's Husband, Dave, takes the task of stuffing the bears before she makes the final stitches.

Made from love, with love, and tons of polyester stuffing!

Janet's grandson watches as she sews up some bears.