A Tribute to Helga Curtis

In Memory – Wednesday, January 9th, 2013

My sister Charlotte and I were at my mother’s bedside at the Brooksville Florida assisted living facility yesterday, Tuesday, January 8th 2013. Her breathing was labored. Charlotte, who had come down a few months before and taken over the load of work that needed to be done to transition mom into the home, gave her some water from the tip of a drinking straw. Mom hadn’t eaten in 2 days. Later, Hospice came, paperwork was filled out (thanks to Charlotte) and I left for home. A few hours later Hospice came back (more paperwork with Charlotte there) and mom was given her first injection of morphine to ease her pain. Her breathing eased. She even managed somehow to drink a protein shake I was told.

Hospice told Charlotte that Mom had a few weeks to a month left to live. They were wrong.

18 hours later, on Wednesday, January 9th, 2013 at 4:56 a.m. I received the call that my mother had died overnight.

She went quickly and without pain. I hope I showed her enough tenderness at our last meeting. I know I meant to. That’s all anyone can do I suppose.

The report in the Staten Island newspaper (the Staten Island Advance – www.silive.com) was wrong on several of the details, so I’ve corrected them here and expanded a bit as best I could.

Educated in both Germany and the United States, former New Yorker, Helga Curtis, 91, was a versatile craftsperson and writer who relished in her needlework, and whose many career paths led to an interesting life of discovery in the field of history and art, died Wednesday, January 9th, 2013 in Tangerine Cove Assisted Living Center, Brooksville, Fla.

Born on Long Island, she moved to the Upper East Side of Manhattan into the predominantly German speaking Yorkville area where she gave birth to her first 4 children, Charlotte, Hilary, Cynthia and David and then moved to Eltingville on the south shore of Staten Island where her last daughter Alison was born.

She later moved to Randall Manor (New West Brighton, also on Staten Island) where she opened, owned and operated a needlepoint, crewel and quilting shop on Forest Avenue called “Stitcher’s Studio” which was located adjacent to “Sklenar Art” which belonged to her to soon to be future lifelong partner, Fred Sklenar.

After partnering with Fred Sklenar and combining their businesses into one (by cutting through a wall and having a connecting door installed), the two purchased a centuries old property on Jewett Avenue, Staten Island, and converted the old home with four fireplaces and a stone dutch oven in the basement into their new business “Imagere” & “Sklenar Art Enterprises Ltd.” and had the house itself registered as a Staten Island Landmark destined for protection as a historical site because it was once part of the famous underground railroad system helping hide escaped southern slaves traveling north toward freedom.

During those happy years the two helped many budding NYC artists become known by hosting their work in Art shows open to the public at their business location. These shows were lavishly catered by Jack Demyan (Demyan’s Hoffbrau Haus – “Caterer’s to ‘The Godfather'”). Artists from Pratt Institute, and other art academies, quickly gained recognition and collectors as the many well to do New York City art collectors purchased their first major works at the shows.

In 1976, Mom moved to Indiana, Pa., (birthplace of actor Jimmy Stewart and home of Indiana University of Pennsylvania) where she co-owned (along with her partner Joan Cantor) an upscale woman’s boutique named simply “1001” which was located at 1001 Philadelphia St.

Selling $700 and above women’s suits, silks, bags and accessories, as well as custom hand designed lost wax one of a kind 18 and 22 k gold jewelry set with precious stones (created by partner Joan Cantor), the shop quickly gained popularity.

Meanwhile, Fred Sklenar’s “Sklenar Art” studio was operated from the home the two built on the top of one of the many hills surrounding Indiana Pennsylvania.

Thereafter, Helga and Fred continued in the arts (teaching, writing, designing, painting, and judging shows), while they moved south, opening and selling a string of successful businesses they purchased and developed on their trek toward retirement in Florida.

Always in love, always working together, and finally settling into a happy and romantic, semi-working retirement in Brooksville Florida in the 1980s, they continued to remain active, teach, and create.

Mrs. Curtis developed her fascination for fabrics, fashion, and design from a young age, and it is said that by the time she was 5, she had already begun making dresses for her little sister Elsie.

Her knowledge later branched off into history, always relating her studies in fashion where she later earned a degree.

On Staten Island, she worked at Historic Richmond Town, where she was asked to re-create needlework pieces sewn prior to 1900 to be displayed at the museum.

She well over a decade she was also involved with fundraising efforts for the Staten Island Mental Health Society.

She later conducted classes in needlework at the YMCA. While there, she taught children how to quilt comfort pillows, and donated their work to soldiers in Afghanistan.

In addition, Mrs. Curtis founded the Red Hat Quilters for the Hernando County (Fla.) Recreation Department.

She also worked closely with the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village, located 1 mile north of Dade City off 301 on Pioneer Museum Road where she displayed her own quilts and those of many of her students, performed book signings, and gave lectures on historical quilting.

She had many articles on quilting and needlework published in various magazines, and even wrote a column for her local newspaper. But her most famous moment as a writer came after the publication of her first book, “Flowers of the Bible,” in 2003.

She authored two other books in the following years: Herbs, Spices and Fruits of the Bible, and Thimble Tots and Dragonflies, completing her latest book in 2011 at the age of 89.

Her book “Flowers of the Bible” was quoted just once on page 147 in the novel “Herbal Passions” By Carolee Snyder (owner of Carolee’s Herb Farm) where author Carolee wrote:

“You should do a workshop on Biblical plants and herbs,” Estell suggested. “I didn’t see that on your schedule, and I think people would attend. In fact, I made a wonderful quilted wall hanging you could borrow to display for your workshop,” Estelle said. “It’s called ‘Flowers of the Bible’ and the quilt squares were designed by Helga Curtis. She also designed “Herbs, Spices & Fruits of the Bible’ but it took me so long to applique the first one and quilt it that I vowed I’d never do another one. The people who attend your workshop might be interested though…”

…after which Mom’s book became somewhat of a cult collector’s item soaring to over $200 a copy for a few years.

Her daughter, Alison, said one of her mother’s favorite quotes was “Don’t argue with people you can’t learn anything from,” which helped her through her life.

Mrs. Curtis is survived by a son, David; four daughters, Charolotte Whitescarver, Hilary Curtis, Cynthia Curtis and Alison Curtis; a brother, Victor Carlson; a sister, Barbara Carlson, and 10 grandchildren.

Arrangements were handled through the Brewer Funeral Home in Brooksville and included a cremation.

At mom’s request, her ashes have been sent to NYC where they will be dealt with in ceremony.

This page only touches upon Mom’s many accomplishments. Her name is mentioned over 200 times in the Library of Congress for her contributions to help preserve the American art form of quilting as a cottage industry after Congress granted China the rights to reproduce American colonial design quilts in China using slave labor, effectively destroying the livelihoods of thousands of American women. Through her efforts and those of others China officially lost those rights.

Helga now joins Fred, who died of cancer and heart disease in the 1990’s. Fred was a great man and a true friend, loved dearly by my mother. May they now forever rest in peace together, and their love for one another live on for all time.

A very special thank you to my sister Charlotte who came down here at just the right time. Her efficiency dealing with and sorting out the paperwork has been nothing short of amazing. Charlotte spent hours a day for the last months of mom’s life sitting and speaking with her, getting to know her again, and helping with the visiting attendants, nurses, physical therapist, and social worker. Charlotte helped getting mom’s paperwork straightened out, helped getting her cleaned up and her hair washed, did her laundry, dishes and shopping (taking over all of the tasks I used to perform – and more now that mom had become totally incapable of caring for herself) and made sure the pets were taken care of. Charlotte also helped our sister Hilary move out and into her new home (more paperwork done by Charlotte). For that we have nothing but the strongest praise. It was always mom’s wish that someone in the family look after Hilary, and that person turned out to be Charlotte.

Thank you Charlotte. This is a tribute to you as well. From everyone else in the family in general we thank you for easing mom’s burdens and a special thank you from me in specific for giving me such a huge break after the years I spent down here helping out as I could while working my network engineering business, frequently requiring trips away from home.

Toward the end it got so hard and you picked it up, shouldered it, and carried on like a trooper. Many thanks.

The original obituary is here.

Most people don’t think of the amount of sacrifice it takes to help an aging loved one continue living at home so they can lead a fairly independent life for as long as they can. The falls and fractures, the crashed cars until they can’t drive any longer, taking them to their classes, to church, taking mom to her Quilt Shows where she could show her work, sell her books, and lecture… the increasingly frequent doctor visits, prescriptions, shopping, taking care of the yard work and daily chores – and in my case, waking up early every morning to drive my disabled sister to work and then pick her up to bring her home each evening. From the canes to the walkers to the wheelchairs… From lucidity, to dementia, to hospice care.

For me it meant not bartending at night but running an IT business from home while keeping an eye on things. It meant not driving to Tampa to take an IT position with a firm there.

Mom is gone now. RIP.

Moving on – may lady luck be with me.

To those of you who have recently taken on this family responsibility I wish you too good luck. All the best. Just a word. Some time, some day, far away, you too may receive that call as I did…

“David? I need you to come down.”
“O.K., Mom, I’ll be right there.”

A Tribute to Helga Curtis

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