A surprise thank you
Three receive Quilts of Valor for military service, and one of them was wholly unsuspecting
Three veterans were awarded Quilts of Valor on Veterans Day weekend. For at least one, it came as a complete surprise.
Christian Boiser, of Clarkston, and Serena Occhino and Wesley Taylor, of Jessup, Ga., were attending a birthday celebration for Louise Beavert celebrating her 90th birthday Saturday at the Best Western in Clarkston.
Beavert is Boiser’s stepgrandma and she told him he was receiving a quilt. He didn’t expect it to be a Quilt of Valor, though. He thought she was giving him a quilt herself.
Beavert is Occhino’s aunt and she along with Taylor were planning to come together from Georgia for the celebration. She knew she was going to be presented with a quilt, but Taylor didn’t.
“And I found out when they called my name,” he said.
Occhino kept the quilt a surprise from Taylor. As the quilts were being awarded, he didn’t even see there was a third quilt waiting for him.
“I was thinking how nice this was for her (Occhino) and then they called my name,” Taylor said.
They were awarded the quilts from Samy Owen, the Pacific Northwest district coordinator and Idaho State coordinator of the Quilts of Valor Foundation.
The Quilts of Valor Foundation began in 2003 by Catherine Roberts. The quilts are a way to say thank you to veterans and provide comfort to those who served.
The quilts are made by hand by countless volunteers around the country and since 2003 the foundation has made more than 350,000 quilts, according to the Quilts of Valor website.
Occhino noted that the corner of the quilt shows who made it, which Boiser, Taylor and Occhino said made the quilts feel more personal.
Boiser served in the Navy from 2019 to 2022, Occhino served in the Army from 1999 to 2019 and Taylor also served in the Army from 2001 to 2024.
Taylor said it was definitely meaningful to him to receive a quilt this weekend, with Veterans Day on Monday. Occhino also noted the special honor of receiving the quilt around Veterans Day.
“So thank you to everyone who still supports service members and veterans,” she said.
Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.
