SMITHFIELD -- Lost loved ones will be forever remembered through Rebecca Ryan's senior project.

Ryan, who is graduating from Smithfield-Selma High School this week, wanted to incorporate her passion for sewing into her senior project. Five years ago, Johnston Memorial Hospital started displaying annually a quilt made from fabric that belonged to people who had passed away. Volunteers are gracious enough to make the quilt, which is displayed in the Johnston Medical Mall.

“It’s a visible reminder of what we lost, yet also the richness of what we still have,” said the Rev. Jeanell Cox, director of spiritual care for the hospice program at Johnston Memorial Hospital. “When someone we care about dies, we are left with the many gifts, the memories and the things that they taught us. Those things can’t go away or be taken away.”

Dr. Regina Ryan, medical director of JMH’s hospice program, suggested her daughter head up the project this year. “I knew I wanted to make a quilt,” said Ryan, who will enter the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall. “I just didn’t know how I could tie it into anything. I thought this was the best way to do it.”

A memorial service for the loved ones was held at the Medical Mall last October. Ryan gathered fabric, including scraps of clothing, blankets and pictures from those who attended the service. She was intrigued with the stories that represented each piece of fabric.

“I made a scrapbook with small pieces of the fabric,” Ryan said. “Each piece had a name of the person being remembered and their story. That was used as part of my presentation [for school] so others could see the people behind the fabric.”

The family of Byrone Murray brought in a picture of Murray and his grandfather to be sewn onto a piece of fabric. Murray, a former classmate of Ryan’s, died six years ago in an accident at Smithfield Middle School.

North Johnston High School senior Nick Creech died in a car crash last year. His family saved a piece of his shirt for the quilt. Ryan embroidered Creech’s name and football jersey number onto the fabric.

It took Ryan almost 30 hours to make the quilt, which is big enough to cover a twin-sized mattress. “For the most part, it was easy,” she said. “There were some pieces of fabric that were oddly shaped I had to take into account.”

The colorful quilt was unveiled last month. Dozens of people who donated fabric were on hand to see Ryan’s hard work. They quietly wept and stared. Many walked up to the quilt to find the piece of fabric that represented their lost loved one. Admirers hugged and thanked Ryan for her efforts.

“I was pleased with how it came out,” Ryan said. “It represented the people well. I got everything done they wanted me to do for it. They all seemed to really like it.”