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Philomena Durcan Obituary

Oregon Quilt Project
Oregon, United States
Quilter, author, teacher, Philomena Durcan passed away on July 28, 2020.
Philomena T. Durcan
Oct. 15, 1934-July 28, 2020

We miss her Irish lilt, the twinkle in her eyes and her easy smile. Philomena was born in Sligo, Ireland to John and Ann Durcan.

While at St. Luke's Hospital as catering manager, she met Walter Wiechec, an American physicist who co-founded Core Memories Ltd in Dublin. They married and moved to California where Walt was hired by Stanford Research Institute in Palo Alto. Philomena's new friends were quilters and invited her to join them. For her first quilt she found an Irish Friendship Ring and was delighted with the results. Encouraged by Walt and her friends, she continued to share her heritage by designing Celtic quilts inspired by the Book of Kells and the Lynch drawings in the Oratory of the Dominican Convent in Dublin. She incorporated bias tapes to create the intricate Celtic designs illustrated in her four books. Under her company, Celtic Designs Inc, she sold her books, bias bars and stencils. Her quilts can be viewed at www.quiltindex.org. Two of her signature quilts are donated to the International Quilt Museum at Lincoln, Nebraska and the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. Philomena often reflects on her quilting days as "the happies times in my life."

Philomena lived in Sunnydale California until 2008 when she moved to Portland to be near her niece Grainne and family. She was preceeded in death by her parents, her sisters Eileen, Maureen and Bride and her brothers, Tom, Jack and Pat. She is survived by her nieces and nephews in Ireland and the US.

A graveside service is planned. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the charity of your choice. To our "Irish Cailin", Philomena, ...Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

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