Ocean Ridge group searches for quilts scattered by tornado from victim’s home

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Following a deadly tornado in Brunswick County earlier this week, communities are joining together to return what’s lost.

A quilting club in the Ocean Ridge plantation is asking for help finding quilts that were in a home destroyed by the twister.

The club stitched multiple quilts with love with hopes to soon donate them to a charity and help provide comfort and warmth to those in need.

The quilts were being stored at the home of Phyllis O’Connor, one of the tornado victims who lost her life to the violent storm.

“Phyllis was collecting quilts that were going to be used for women that were coming to stay at Rose House, and so this was a donation and it was a project that we were doing all together,” Melanie Kelley, a member of Ocean Ridge Quilting Club, said.

Kelley knew O’Connor for almost a decade and said that her friend played a major part in making the quilts for the project. However, the storm scattered the quilts.

Only a few have started to reappear in the surrounding area and the club is asking for the community helping locating the rest.

“She had already made 30 quilts for the group, and she was storing them, so now what’s been happening is the quilts are coming home,” Kelley said.

As quilts continue to come home, no matter their state of repairs, their purpose will remain the same. 

“We’re going to fix those quilts, clean them up, and we’re going to use them for Rose House, as was originally planned,” Kelley said.

If you find a quilt, you are asked to visit here and notify the neighborhood.