Nedra Strouf has been preserving memories for 20 years in the form of stuffed bears made from fabrics of those loved ones that have passed away. The bears are a way for those wanting the bears to remain close to those they loved. - Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

“It’s just something special to have; people can remember their loved ones.” -Nedra Strouf

For 20 years, a local woman has been in the business of documenting memories. She doesn’t mark them on paper, however.

Nedra Strouf of rural Oakland uses her knack for sewing to help people who have lost loved ones. Strouf makes stuffed bears from fabrics that belonged to people who have passed away. Her daughter-in-law helped her coin the term “memory bears.” Because people often discard past family members’ belongings, Strouf found a way to transform those things into keepsakes. The hobby started when Strouf didn’t know what to do with her fathers’ old denim after he died. Instead of throwing the materials away, she took them and thought of a way to remember him. She began sewing.

This particular bear was Strouf’s first bear and is made from jeans that belonged to her father. It sits next to toys that belonged to her children. - Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

“I’ve been sewing since I was 12,” Strouf said, who sells crafts, keepsakes and memory bears at local markets and craft shows. Actually, sewing is something Strouf can’t get away from, as she also works at Jo-Ann fabrics.

“It’s just something I like to do,” she added.

Twenty years and more than 400 bears later, one bear still stands out to Strouf more than any other — the first one.

“My dad’s with me all the time,” Strouf said. “It’s just something special to have; people can remember their loved ones.”

After realizing the significance of her first bear — and remembering it every day — Strouf started making bears for others.

The materials from which she makes them have become almost endless.

“I’ve made bears out of wedding dresses, bed spreads, T-shirts…,” Strouf said, and added a list of other items. “I tried mink, but that doesn’t work.”

Among her first bear, Strouf has made plenty of significant memory bears for others. A couple include one she made and sent to her son in Iraq, and one from a World War II uniform. She’s seen how others have gotten a chance to remember their families, including a man who took his bear fishing with him all day and a woman who bought 14 for her family members.

“When people come and they have clothing of loved ones, and they see the bear out of that clothing, some of them cry,” she said.

Furthermore, her bears are for everyone — women, children, men — and the occasions are endless.

“There’s no age limit to them,” she said.

Some people simply buy the bears as memorabilia. Strouf’s most popular sellers are her Minnesota Vikings, Twins, Green Bay Packers and John Deere bears. She once sold 24 bears to one woman, and she stays busy with about four to five projects continuing at all times. But she still enjoys it.

Making bears from the same process hasn’t become mundane to Strouf because the process isn’t automatic.

Strouf said every once in a while, she still sews something crooked or puts a set of legs on backwards and asks herself, “How many times have you done these?” She shrugged it off, laughed and said her work seems necessary in her daily routine.

“It relaxes me,” she said. “It’s kind of weird to say, but it does; it’s part of my day.”

Strouf sews clothes for herself and family, makes bags, jewelry, pot holders and pillows. But it’s the bears that have become a lifelong project.