Yvonne Porcella

Yvonne Porcella
May 12, 1936 - February 12, 2016
On February 12, world-renowned quilt artist Yvonne Porcella passed away in Modesto after a 6 year courageous battle with cancer.  She lived a very full 79 years of life as wife, mother, surgical nurse, painter, weaver, and lastly, quilt artist.
Among Yvonne's ancestors were pioneers of California's agribusiness, bringing wine grapes and the French Prune to the Santa Clara Valley in the 1850s. She embraced challenges, breaking barriers when she was accepted into the first class of women nursing students at the previously all-male University of San Francisco. She would graduate from USF with an RN and a BS degree in Public Health.
Yvonne began her art career in her home in her family's almond orchard in Wood Colony west of Modesto. With her husband, they raised their 4 children and she worked part-time as a surgical nurse at Doctor's Hospital, Modesto.  She loved color which she embodied wondrously in her quilts, many of which can be found in numerous national museums, including the Smithsonian; The Museum of Arts & Design in NYC; MOMA in NYC; the High Museum in Atlanta, GA; and the de Young Museum in S.F.  Besides private collections, her work can be viewed locally at Modesto's Center Plaza, Kaiser Hospital, the lobby of the MRI building, and the California Cancer Care Center.
Yvonne was a prolific author of 11 books and taught her art to thousands of students throughout the world.  She also was the founder of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA), which is now a world-wide organization with over 3000 members.
Yvonne was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and enjoyed her 4 children, 11 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Dr. Robert Porcella; son Steve and his wife Sandy and their two children; daughter Suzanne Byrd and her husband Tim and their six children and 2 grandchildren; son Greg and his wife Madhu and their 3 children; and son Don and his wife Ginger.  She is also survived by her sister, Marilou Locey.
A public graveside service will be held on Friday, 2/19/16 at 10 a.m. at St. Stanislaus Catholic Cemetery, 1141 Scenic Dr., Modesto, CA.  A memorial Mass will be held in Arnold, CA (where Bob and Yvonne have mostly lived for 22 years) on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of the Sierra  Church, 1301 Linebaugh Rd., Arnold, CA 95223, with a reception to follow at the church hall.  Contributions can be made to Our Lady of the Sierra Helping Hand, where Yvonne served as a lector, cantor and Eucharistic minister; the SAQA Yvonne Porcella Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 572, Storrs, CT, 06268, www.saqa.com; or the Quilt Alliance, 67 Broadway Street, Suite 200, Asheville, NC 28801, www.allianceforamericanquilts.org.
The family would like to especially thank Dr. Banisadre, who treated Yvonne with compassion and expertise enabling her to fight her cancer for the past 6 years.
Please Share your memories and condolences at
www.AllenMortuary.com
www.cvobituaries.com