While many people find that death and dying are topics that they’d rather shy away from, retiree Jean Huddleston has found her purpose helping make life “bear-able” for people who are grieving.
Huddleston, who retired April 30 as the director of business and operations at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, sews stuffed teddy bears from the clothing of people who have died as keepsakes for their family members. She is a volunteer with the Provena Hospice Center for Grief, Loss and Hope Memory Bear program, through which volunteers help grieving people cut, sew and stuff 24-inch bears from their loved ones’ clothing, but she began making bears before she began working as a volunteer.
When Huddleston began making bears in 2006, her goal was to make 500 before she retired, but she surpassed that goal. Thus far, she’s made 563 of the cuddly critters, including 100 bears for children living with their mothers in local women’s shelters, and 20 bears, which commemorated a friend’s son, that she gave to the Champaign Police Department to help comfort children during crises.
There have been bears made of dainty, women’s lacy handkerchiefs; and bears made from men’s undergarments, tablecloths, sheets, blankets, shirts, jackets, pants and even a chef’s jacket. A rabbit fur coat, given to Huddleston by a current client, awaits its metamorphosis from the utilitarian to the whimsical.
Of the hundreds of bears that have taken shape under her hands, Huddleston’s favorites include the handkerchief bear, the chef bear – which sported a tiny chef’s hat – and a bear that memorialized a die-hard Chicago Blackhawks fan.
While some crafty seamstresses turn a profit out of custom designing bears for grieving people, Huddleston gives her bears away.
“I never want to put a price on grief,” she said. “Some people can afford them, some can’t. If I can help someone through their grief, great.”
Since retiring, Huddleston has been traveling – a lot. She and her children – Paul Foster, who works at the UI Library, and Kelly Foster, who works as Extra Help at the UI Foundation – went to French Lick, Ind. She also visited family in Georgia, spent a week in Bloomington, Ind., with friends from high school and took a two-week vacation to Alaska. Soon, she’s packing her bags again and heading for Cancun, Mexico. Next summer, Huddleston and her children are planning to take an Alaskan cruise.
At home in Champaign, Huddleston has been caring for a friend who’s recuperating from surgery. And she decided, “after 40 years, it was time to start exercising,” so she and a fitness-minded buddy have been walking the paths that wind throughout south Champaign five days a week or working out at Gold’s Gym when the weather is inclement.
Huddleston spent her early childhood in Decatur. Her family later moved to Champaign, where she graduated from Centennial High School in 1969. Her ex-husband was in the Navy, and they lived in Florida, Tennessee and California, before she landed back in Champaign working at JM Jones.
Huddleston was hired by the UI Library in 1978, and in January 1980 accepted a job as chief clerk at Krannert. She soon was promoted to the director of business and operations position, where she remained until her retirement last spring.
She oversaw not only the business office but also the computing department and building operations. There was no such thing as a typical day, Huddleston said. Although she started each day with a to-do list, she had to re-prioritize and put those tasks aside oftentimes to handle the personnel issues, the budget problems “or whatever walked through the door,” Huddleston said.
Huddleston said she had planned to stay at Krannert just three years because she didn’t know anything about the arts. “It goes fast. I can’t believe I was at the university almost 32 years.”
Despite the sometimes hectic environment, Huddleston says that Krannert “is probably one of the most amazing places I’ve ever seen. I didn’t realize how important education was to me, but to see these kids get experience in opera, music, theater and dance and see Wynton Marsalis give a student an impromptu horn lesson in a hallway. … Those are things that you can’t buy. You see those little miracles in that place, and it makes it special.
“There’s not a person in the place who’s not connected to putting a performance on. It’s a lot of work, and it’s hard work, but it’s a great group of people.”
Over the years, her work at Krannert allowed Huddleston and her children to explore a variety of artistic genres, cultivating in them a deep appreciation for the arts, and they have been sponsors for numerous performances.