Mary Catherine Lamb died Aug. 15, 2009. She was a pioneer of women’s programming on KBOO. From the mid-’70s to the mid-’80s she had a bi-weekly program, first called “Women Reading Women’s Writings” and later “Women’s Voice,” on which she read diverse fiction and nonfiction.
A former library clerk, community activist, and copy editor at Willamette Week and elsewhere, Mary Catherine did her most important work as an artist. Her fine art quilts—most of them fractured, whimsical re-visionings of the Catholic imagery of her childhood—are held in public and private collections. Her quilt “St. Anthony’s Torment” is on display at the Portland Art Museum through September 2009. Oregon Public Broadcasting featured her on “Oregon Art Beat”; the program can be viewed online at http://www.opb.org.
Other things for which Mary Catherine will be remembered are her love of poker, film, roots music and vintage clothing, as well as her wry observations of the idiosyncrasies of life. A memorial is planned for Oct. 23.