Quilt made by woman killed in North Carolina tornado flew 10 miles to stranger’s yard
A handmade quilt that flew more than 10 miles during a deadly tornado has found its way back home, thanks to social media sleuths in North Carolina.
However, the outcome is as tragic as it is uplifting. The maker was one of three people killed in the storm, according to Whitney Frink, who found the baby quilt outside her home Tuesday. She lives in Ash, 10 miles west of where the twister hit around midnight Monday.
“My son and I were walking down the driveway and saw it and realized it was a blanket,” Frink told McClatchy News.
“My mother grandmother and great grandmother have all quilted all of my life so I was quick to recognize that it was handmade. It was in perfect condition, was just wet and a little dirty. There was no way I could just throw it away so that is why I went to Facebook.”
Frink posted photos of the quilt on three Facebook sites, resulting in more than 500 shares. It took just eight hours to trace the quilt to Phyllis O’Connor, she says.
“It was definitely not the outcome I was expecting,” Frink said. “A member of the quilting club in Ocean Ridge saw my post and was able to confirm that it belonged to one of the people who lost their life.”
Jill Ellringer of South Carolina, Phyllis O’Connor’s sister, says the story of the quilt’s recovery has been a comfort to the family.
“First of all, I’m amazed at how far the quilt traveled and I’m also amazed at how that woman was able to find out where it came from through Facebook friends,” Ellringer told McClatchy News.
“She put a lot of love into cleaning it and making sure we got it back. I’m moved by the outpouring of love and support from whole community.”
Ellringer says at least one other quilt from O’Connor’s home has been found in the community and is being returned to the family.
Three people died, 10 were hurt and 50 homes were damaged during the tornado, and much of the destruction was centered in the Ocean Ridge Plantation development in southern Brunswick County, officials say.
Frink says she has been told O’Connor was holding onto the quilt “for a baby that was going to be born in the coming weeks,” according to the Wilmington Star-News. O’Connor and other members of the quilting club made the quilts for a women’s rehab center, WECT reported.
The tornado was “rated as a high-end EF3 ... with winds estimated at 160 mph,” the National Weather Service reported.
Two of the people who died as a result of the tornado have been identified by news outlets as O’Connor and her husband Richard O’Connor. The Alhambra Teachers Association in California identified the third as “retired teacher Barry Glick.”
Rob O’Connor confirmed the death of his dad in a Feb. 16 Facebook post.
“A random North Carolina tornado decided to wipe out his entire property, and killed my dad Richard O’Connor and his beloved wife, Phyllis O’Connor, my stepmom of 30 years,” Rob O’Connor posted. “We are devastated. ... You guys did not deserve this.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Quilt made by woman killed in North Carolina tornado flew 10 miles to stranger’s yard."