Another Great One Is Gone: Joyce Gross

One of the blockbuster historians and mover/shakers in quiltdom died on Christmas Eve.

photo by Vicki Chase, from TQHF website

Joyce Gross was 88. Here's what one of her colleagues said:


The world of quilt history has lost one of its most influential
figures—Joyce Gross. Joyce died on Christmas Eve, very peacefully, after
a day of seeing family, friends, and even her beloved dog. There will be
a memorial service for her on January 17 at Point Bonita, California,
where she ran seminars for many years. Joyce’s lifelong dedication to a
painstaking, labor-intensive quilt research project resulted in rooms
full of boxes of her notes, all cross-indexed, along with the original
printed documentation: more than 1000 quilt books, vast assortments of
periodicals ranging back to the early 20th century, ephemera of all
kinds, including rare fabric samples. She had a library of original
documents that would be almost impossible to assemble today. Luckily the
Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas was able
to acquire this incredible body of historical reference materials, along
with an important part of her quilt collection which included examples
by such important quiltmakers as Bertha Stenge, Pine Eisfeller, Florence
Peto, and Dr. Jeannette Throckmorton. She was a major force in early
quilt research and documentation.
Karey Bresenhan
Director Emeritus, International Quilt Festival—Houston, Cincinnati,
Long Beach, Chicago
Co-founder, Texas Quilt Museum

Joyce was inducted into the Quilters Hall of Fame in 1996. This link will take you to TQHF's blog, and their comments on Joyce's passing, along with a tribute from her friend, Cuesta Benberry, another Great One who is now gone. (Cuesta died back in 2007.)

Our world is better for her having been in it. Thank you, Joyce.