Preserving Memories One T-Shirt at a Time

J. Stern, the former Assistant Athletic Director for Ole Miss Sports Productions, has a unique story, beyond working for the University for more than two decades. His great aunt, Sue Crabtree Teague turned 90 years old in January. According to Stern, her philosophy is to tell the 80-year-olds to get out of her way because she has some living to do. She’s a spunky lady!
In January, Stern took four bags of various Ole Miss tshirts to his great aunt. After six weeks of deliberation, she had settled on 20 or 25 of the shirts and requested to see Stern. She had sewn the tshirts together into a beautiful quilt commemorating his time at Ole Miss!
She’s full of these surprises, Stern said. When his mother passed away in 2007, his great aunt Sue took his mother’s scarves and made him a tapestry and a pillow. She also stitched together two teddy bears from his mother’s furs for Stern and his sister.
What a remarkable woman, who at 90 years old, can still create a piece of art that brings tears to your eyes! Check out her work below.

j and aunt sue
J. Stern and his great aunt Sue

Bags of tshirts given to great aunt Sue.
Bags of tshirts given to great aunt Sue.

Quilt made from tshirts to commemorate Stern's 20+ years with Ole Miss Athletics.
Quilt made from tshirts to commemorate Stern’s 20+ years with Ole Miss Athletics.

 
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Tshirt quit made by great aunt Sue to commemorate his 20+ years at Ole Miss.

Front: Pillow made from Stern's mother's scarves and hankies
Front: Pillow made from Stern’s mother’s scarves and hankies

Back: Pillow made from Stern's mother's scarves and hankies
Back: Pillow made from Stern’s mother’s scarves and hankies

Made from Stern's mother's scarves by his great aunt Sue
Made from Stern’s mother’s scarves by his great aunt Sue

Teddy bear made from his mother's furs by his great aunt Sue.
Teddy bear made from his mother’s furs by his great aunt Sue.

About Stern (courtesy of Ole Miss Sports)
J. Stern spent the past two decades working with Ole Miss’ athletics video operations. His work on the various Ole Miss coaches shows has earned numerous honors, including Telly Awards, Communicator Awards and awards from the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters.
In February 1990, Stern came to Oxford as the Sports Producer for the University’s Teleproductions Resource Center. He served in numerous capacities at TRC, including Assistant Director, Interim Director and the first Executive Producer of Mississippi Today, a public broadcasting show about business in the state.
Prior to Ole Miss, Stern worked at ESPN in Bristol, Conn., where he was a Production Assistant and Associate Producer on SportsCenter and remote Associate Producer for ESPN’s coverage of live Big 10 women’s basketball.
Stern was an associate producer for USA Network’s Thursday Night Fights and worked for F&F Productions in St. Petersburg, Fla., as a remote coordinator. While at F&F, Stern crewed and coordinated remote broadcasts for CBS Sports, WGN, Sunshine Network, the Republican National Convention and the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
A native of Opelika, Ala., Stern is no stranger to the Southeastern Conference, having studied at both the University of Alabama and Auburn University in speech communications and broadcast journalism.