Jeanette Nancy Aziz Pitalo

Jeanette Nancy Aziz Pitalo passed away peacefully on the morning of February 15, 2024 following a five month battle with ovarian cancer. Born in Detroit, Michigan August 22, 1945, her family moved to Southern California when she was two years old. She attended George Washington High School in Los Angeles where she graduated in 1963.  Jeanette was wed to Thomas Pitalo on February 1, 1964, having celebrated their 60th anniversary just a few weeks ago.

After she was married, she worked as a telephone directory assistance operator for Pacific Bell and at JCPenney in the Personnel department. During the early 1970’s, she and Tom owned PAW’s Statuary Shop in Downey, California. Jeanette then worked for All Craft Marketing, a family-run statuary manufacturing business through the mid-1970’s.

All through this time, her love of sewing and creating were important in her life too. This would become a much bigger part of her life as she worked at various fabric shops in Southern California plus having her own craft/gift shop as well. When she and Tom moved to Salem, Oregon in 1987, it did not take long for her to find a place to use her creative gifts and talents as she started working at Greenbaum’s Quilted Forest.  Her teaching skills were second to none and she continued to grow into one of the foremost quilt instructors in the Salem area. She not only taught at Greenbaum’s, but also at Whitlock’s Sew & Vac and various quilt retreats as well as Will’n’Beez Quilt and Coffee Shoppe. She was also the “queen of quilt camps,” having taught at least two generations of young quilters how to make a quilt in just a week.

She was involved in her community as well. She was one of the original founders of the Mid-Valley Quilt Guild and was the Show Coordinator for Salem’s Quiltopia-Quilt Show at the Mill. In recent years, she enjoyed helping at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and was the featured quilter at the Oregon Quilt Festival in 2023.

Jeanette is survived by husband Tom, children Nanci (Brian), Dawn (Jeff), Ben (Sarah), Valerie (Burt), Alicia, Whitney (Sam), Holly (Edel), twenty-two grandchildren and eleven great-children as well as family members and a multitude of friends.

There will be a Celebration of Life celebrating Jeanette and her legacy on Saturday, February 24, 2024, 11:00 a.m. at Monmouth Christian Church 959 Church St W, Monmouth, Oregon, followed by a potluck. We are asking everyone to bring a salad or main dish to share.

In lieu of flowers, please consider giving to the Jeanette Pitalo Quilt Camp Scholarship c/o Will’n’Beez 1555 12th St SE, Salem, OR 97302.