Lost Art Press

Jean Terry West (1942-2021)

Posted on by Lost Art Press
My mom’s place on Willard Street, one block from our storefront and home. She kept the place perfect.

On Friday, Lucy and I walked to get some dinner at a Mexican restaurant after a typical and trying week of work. As we were finishing up, my mom sat down with one of her friends, Sandi, at a table next to us.

Before I could even say hello, my mom’s table was swarmed with people from the neighborhood who stopped by to chat. I stood up, and we talked for a few minutes. As I left, I kissed her on the head and said, “Love you, mom.”

Affection is completely out of character for me in a public setting. And as I walked away, I wondered what had gotten into me. On Monday, I found out.

My mom, Jean Terry West, died unexpectedly overnight. As I’m sure most of you know, losing your parents can feel like the rug has been pulled out from under you. One of the ways I deal with grief is writing and building. And my coming days are going to be filled with that and taking care of the arrangements and my family.

In the meantime, I’d like to repost this essay I wrote last year about her and her importance to Lost Art Press and my life as a woodworker and writer.

I miss her already.

— Christopher Schwarz

At Popular Woodworking, we begged readers to send us submissions for the magazine’s last-page essay called “End Grain.” The problem was that almost all the essays we received had the same theme. It was such a problem that the theme became its own compound adjective.

Me: So what’s the essay about?

Fellow editor: It’s another grandpa-was-a-woodworker-so-now-I-am-too piece.

To be fair, my grandfather on my mother’s side truly was an accomplished woodworker. He taught me quite a bit about the craft and inspired me to be a woodworker. So I am in the sizable cohort that I appear to be mocking (though I am not).

Instead, I want to call attention to a fact we sometimes forget. Here it is: We are not clones.

When I write about the woodworking I did as a kid, it’s easy to focus on – duh – the woodworking parts. My grandfather was an enthusiastic woodworker, and I spent many hours in his Connecticut shop making things. My father was also a woodworker and a carpenter and a mason and a talented photographer (and 100 other things). And it’s easy to explain my interest in the craft through those two people.

But that’s just shorthand. And it’s incomplete.

As my father got older, his patience for work in the craft grew veneer thin. When he was younger, he would spend months laying hundreds of bricks by himself (sometimes with the help of my mother) as he started beautifying our first home in Arkansas. After he designed the two houses for our farm, he spent most weekends there (dragging us along whenever possible). These houses took more than a decade to construct. But despite the overwhelming task, he moved forward every week, joist by stud.

Once in his 60s, however, he confessed to me that he’d lost the drive to take on big projects. He was still interested in making things. But he wanted things to be quick. He wanted to learn to turn. And to carve small objects. Up until the end, his hand skills and his mental acuity never wavered. When he did pick up the tools, it was humbling to watch. But it was more difficult for him to ignite that spark. And to keep it going.

I think about that a lot. I have now entered my 50s, and I still want nothing more than to build things day in and day out. For years I worried that I would turn into my father and lose the ember that’s necessary to tackle difficult furniture pieces. 

Luckily, I am not a clone. I am also the product of my mother.

My mother, now in her 70s, is as active and entrepreneurial as she was in her 20s or 30s. As a kid, I watched her teach natural childbirth in our traditional (some might say backwards) Arkansas town. She started a restaurant there, and then she worked at restaurants and catering businesses all over the country (Dallas, Santa Fe, Connecticut, Little Rock). Today, she still runs a catering business from her house and cooks every week as a volunteer at our local shelter. And she still embraces new technology (we’re both exploring the world of cooking with sous vide and an Instant Pot these days) and new ways of working. 

She has had a more tumultuous life than my father, especially after they broke up. But she doesn’t give up. And she always finds a way to make things work, whether that’s throwing together a great meal with scraps or starting her life over in a new city.

So while it might look like Lost Art Press and my love for woodworking is the direct result of my time in the workshop with my grandfather and father, that’s not quite right. It’s my mother’s influence that gave me the strength to give the finger to my corporate job. And in the 1990s when I failed at my first publishing business, it was my mother’s genes that gave me the strength to say: Hell yes, let’s do this again and start Lost Art Press with my business partner, John.

And it’s also her genes that likely will keep me going. 

As I get older, my patience for woodworking has only increased. I am still interested in learning new (and sometimes very old) techniques. And John and I have a business – publishing high-quality woodworking books – that is as ridiculous on paper as running a restaurant or a catering business. But we make it work. 

So while grandfather might have been a woodworker, it’s important to also remember this: Mama was an entrepreneur.

131 thoughts on “Jean Terry West (1942-2021)”

  1. My sincere condolences to you and your family, Chris.

  4. My sincere condolences to you and your family, Chris.

    -Mike Davis-Cheshire

  5. Chris. I’m so sorry. My deepest condolences. If there’s anything I can do, just say the word.

    1. So sorry to hear of your loss Chris. Peace a d blessings to your entire family.

  6. Hello Christopher, I’m sorry for your loss. I sincerely hope that she had a full and happy life.

  8. It does matter how old you are…you’re never old enough to lose your mom.

    I’m truly sorry.

  9. SO sorry for your loss, I too recently lost a parent and it IS hard – you were fortunate to have people who inspired you and will likely continue to inspire you as you reminisce on the things that are (supposedly) gone, but they are not – the best advice I got as my sisters and I were going through it was to “celebrate the stories” and yes, everyone whose life my Dad touched had a story, and some of those were doozies!

  10. I’m truly sorry for your loss. Expected or not, it knocks the stuffing out of you either way. I wish you peace.

  12. So sorry, Chris. Will be thinking of you and your family; best wishes through this difficult time.

  13. This really hits me in the gut. In 1981, I visited my father who was in hospital bed at home because of WWII injuries. (He would have spent his life in a VA hospital had it not for my mother being an RN – they met in an army hospital in 1945.). As I was leaving I leaned over and hugged him, told him I loved hime, shook his hand and left. This very out of character for me. As I left, I thought about how odd it was for me to do that. It was the last time I saw him; two weeks later he passed.

    He was a woodworker and had planned to be a cabinet maker like his father had he had been injured. I still wish to this day he had lived long enough to teach me more and to see what I was able to do as a hobbist. I usually try to avoid making any comments remotely religious but during the funeral, his pastor abruptly interrupted himself and said that Jesus was a carpenter and he could just see Jesus and my father admiring the beautiful oak coffin. Someone later told me you never get over the loss – you just get used to it. They were right.

    I’m very sorry for your loss.

  14. So sorry for your loss Chris.

    I will keep you and your family in my prayers.

  15. Very sorry for your loss. Quite a nice and loving tribute to a special person. Take care and keep well.

  18. Thank you for the generous gesture in sharing such a personal, and moving story: we all learn from each other’s experiences. Strength to you and your family.

  19. My condolences to you, your family and her friends. May her memory be a blessing.

  20. I was so sorry to hear of your loss; I know only too well what it is to lose a parent. Please accept my sincere condolences – and may your writing, and building, and the love of your family and friends bring you comfort in your grief!

  21. So sorry to hear this Chris, our thoughts and prayers are with you and the rest of your family.

  22. Very Sorry,
    I rec’d an email two years ago from the son of a very good friend. He wrote to tell me that his dad had unexpectedly died that day. I responded “Well, crap”.

    Always tell folks that you love them.

    Very Best to you and yours

  23. So sorry for your loss, Chris. Having also lost my mother recently and unexpectedly, I wanted to share my mother’s epitaph (a variation on Robert Burns), which sounds appropriate:

    Few hearts like hers, with virtue warm’d,
    Few heads with knowledge so inform’d:
    If there’s another world, she lives in bliss;
    If there is none, she made the best of this.

  24. Your mom sounded like a really awesome person, and based on that front door, she definitely had style!
    “And it’s also her genes that likely will keep me going.” Hold onto that.

    Condolences to you and your family for your loss.

  25. I have not had the pleasure to meet either you or your mother but I am all too familiar lately with the sudden loss of a loved one. My heart goes out to you and your family.

  29. An eloquent and wonderful account of one of life’s saddest and most grave and most profound experiences: the loss of a parent. Your family gave you more than extraordinary genes along with an unusual sense of Art, Creativity and most importantly, Character: they are manifest in your success and achievements.

  30. Chris – thank you for sharing your loss with us. I will be praying for you and your family.

  31. Blessing Chris, great to be so close both physically & emotionally to your Mother to the end. It sounds like she was also loved by many others too, which means she blessed others too. What a gift!

  32. Losing your Dad is hard enough, but losing your Mom is a real gut punch. They say it gets easier with time. I’m not so sure. What I do know is the sick empty feeling eventually gets filled with precious memories of your Mom’s mannerisms, common patterns of speech, or the times you made her laugh and smile. Little things will bring her back into focus and remind you how truly special of a person she was. Thanks for sharing, we are all thankful for your Mom, she gave us you.

  33. I’m so sorry to hear this. I’ll bet she was deeply proud of you. I hope you and your family are able to grieve in your own time and your own way.

  34. Shocking & sad, Chris. Like the others here, I am glad she was able to be near you & your family, if only for a short time. My thoughts are with you, PF

  35. This has touched my heart on many levels!!!!! Primarily from your heartfelt words of influences In from the people you loved. And also my own reflections in gaining on 70 years of age. I hope I have been an influence and will too be remembered as a person of purpose. I am sure your Mother was proud of her influence on your life.

    Thanks for sharing your heart and your lost.

    Curtis Waskey

  36. Hi Chris, I’m very sorry to hear about your loss. She sounds like a heck of an awesome Mother and sounds like a great setup with her so close by. Thank you for sharing her with everyone. You are all in our thoughts.

  39. All the best Chris. Thank you for sharing a very personal part of your life. I lost my father at age 96 in 2016 and my Mother a year later at 97, I still miss them both everyday. My guess is, you will also. Be well, be safe, thinking of you and your family……….dale

  40. I’m sorry to read this. My condolences to you and your family.

  41. Chris, you and I are just one day a part (me being the oldest). I lost my father 4 years ago and my mother 14 years ago. I still can’t believe it and it still hurts, but we eventually learn how to live with it, even though I still miss them like crazy. Just stick to the beautiful moments, laughs, teachings and love you received from them. Thank God for my wife, my children, woodworking, and your writings and teachings. My deepest condolences and may God bless her soul.

  42. Sorry to hear Chris. Glad you got to be near her over the years.

  43. You have good memories Chris.

    My Mom never said “Goodbye” when I left her company, she always said “Have Fun’.

    She had fun.

    My Dad worked – Hard – always.

    Both are gone now.

    I work hard – 74 and not retired. Business or home always working.

    Trying to learn Mom’s message.

  44. Chris–so sorry about the loss of your mom. Like many others, I too have felt like the rug was pulled out from under me when I lost my parents. Will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

  45. Bless our wonderful moms. Sincere condolences Chris and your family.

  48. I am saddened to hear this. Hugs and Blessings to you and your wife and daughters.

  49. So sorry for your loss. The loss of a parent is like no other…..been there repeatedly over the past 8 years.

  50. Amen, Chris. God’s speed on your mom’s journey home. Remember, she still lives in you and all of yours. Take care of yourself…..steve

  52. Your mom sounds amazing. it’s so cool that she saw your words. My mother was similarly driven, she passed in March of 2018 at 87 years. She’d bought a new sewing machine about a week before. I often catch myself being like her and laugh. She’s still here.

  53. Truly sorry for the loss. Having lost both, as well as three siblings, I can empathize.

  55. Chris,

    The pain of losing a parent is so overwhelming. I cry as I type this message to you. For I too lost my mother, in December from covid- and not a day goes by that I’m not sadden and full of anger. May the memories give you strength. I have nothing by love and respect for you and your family. My sincere condolences.

  56. Sorry for your loss. Mothers do provide a spark to life and often a way to go forward. parents, always missed and never forgotten.

  57. I am very sorry for your loss Chris! My condolences to you and your family.

  60. My thoughts are with you and your family. My sincere condolences.

    1. Beautiful tribute to her, she and your dad must have been very proud of you. Praying for peace and strength as you navigate these next few weeks.

  61. My condolences my friend. I call you friend since a piece of you has been in my back pocket, book shelf and bed side table for over twenty years. I lost mine a while and it still hurts at times. I look at my kids and see pieces of them and am comforted.

  62. Well said….I pull my strength from my Father. His and my motto was and is, If you are going to do something, take the time tk do it right the first time. I am now in my early 60s and that rings true for me to this day. I still miss him, and my only wish is that my 22 year old son could have met and known is grandfather. My son is an Eagle Scout and starting an intership with Irving Paper in the “Great North Woods” of Maine. He will continue his studies in Applied Forestry Management in the fall at UMFK in Fort Kent. I see some of my Dad in him at times…..just part of the great wheel of life. Peace be with you.

  63. My deepest sympathy for your loss, Chris. I lost my Dad in January. The hurt remains.

  64. Love and peace to you and your family, Chris. Hearing about your parents and early experiences (and misadventures) making things has always been one of the highlights of your blog. They both sound like fascinating people.

  66. sorry for your loss just lost mine and know ill never be as tough as she was they knew how to get on and not complain

  67. My condolences to you and your family. May those memories help alleviate your sorrow….

  68. You will remember and treasure that loving kiss on your mom’s forehead for the rest of your life. I’m so sorry for your loss, as I know you feel it acutely. I too had a loving experience when I (unknowingly) had my last few moments with my mom many years ago — today would have been her 103rd birthday. Her birthday of May 18 is always a special memory day for me … so your post is particularly poignant for me. We reach and touch each other in many unexpected ways.

  69. Chris,

    My deepest condolences to you and yours. As with you, I was grief stricken when my mom passed but not until after the funeral and two weeks had passed. I remember clearly, I was up on the roof of new pump house I was building and a feeling came over me that nothing in life mattered. I could not for my life figure out where that came from? So I got down and went to the home place and started to tell my wife of this wired experience, that’s when the dam broke.

    Weeks later I had a dream where my mother showed up and told me she was fine and to quit with the sorrow and get on with life. And I did and now I have the most wonderful memories of her and I am at peace when I think of her.
    God Speed

    So from my experience, Write my Friend and Build and she will be with you always.

  71. My deepest condolences to you and your family on the loss of your Mother. Hold the love and memories close.

  72. Very sorry for your loss. It is always very difficult to lose a parent. Just remember that they are never really gone as they live on in your heart and your memories.

  74. So sorry to hear of your loss, Chris. I spoke to my mother over the phone the day she died and have always been comforted by that memory. GOD BLESS.

  77. So sorry to read about the sudden loss of your mother Chris. My condolences to you & your family, and all her friends.

  78. Being as you are now, I have learned that although they are “gone” they never leave us alone for even a day. My most sincere condolences to all that she loved.

  79. Chris, I am so sorry. I’m glad your mom lived so close in recent years. I’m sure she was very proud of you and your family. Thank you for sharing a bit of her story with us. Sending sympathy and hugs to you and Lucy and the girls.

  80. My sincerest condolences to you and your girls. I am so sorry. This is always so hard.

  82. I enjoy reading your posts and when saw this I felt compelled to offer my condolences. Sorry for your loss.

  84. Peace to you and your family in these times. I am sorry for your loss.

  85. Condolences, Chris. The importance of our mothers cannot be overstated. I’m sure your mom was always proud of you. Keep her memory in your work. Peace.

  86. Thinking of you and yours in this difficult time.
    Wishing you comfort and healing.
    Rest eternal…

  87. Sorry for your loss Chris. May she rest in peace. Parents are never truly gone, they still teach you from beyond. Take care,

  90. I am sorry for your loss Christopher. Always tough loosing a parent. Hang in there!

  91. A friend of mine lost his mom last Friday. He said to me: “Be nice to your mom. One day you’ll wake up and she’ll be gone and it will suck way worse than you expect.” Glad you were nice to yours–as proven by the fact that she wanted to live so close to you and your family.

  92. You’ll miss her every day – some more keenly than others BUT very wonderful that y’all lived so close and got along well !!

  95. Love to you and your family and many many thanks to your mother.

  96. Sincerely sorry for your loss, Chris. I am glad you were able to have her close by. Thanks for sharing all that you do.

  97. I was fortunate to meet your mother twice, and on both occasions it was crystal clear that here was a fun, genuine, and sharp gem. God bless her and you and your family.

  99. My thoughts are with you, Chris. All the best to you and your family.

    1. Such a great loss to your family she will be missed💔

  102. I am sorry for your loss. It is hard to lose a beloved person, especially in a lightning fast way.
    My Dad died in a similar way. She sounds like she was a wonderful lady, thanks for sharing a
    little of her with us.

  103. I’m so sorry for your loss, Chris. Thank you for the beautiful essay.

  105. That’s sad news! My thoughts are with you and thanks for the insights from your essay. Her genes will keep you building and writing.

  106. He who has done
    his best for
    his own time
    has lived for
    all times

    Friedrich Schiller-

  107. A strong, supportive and upbeat mother is an invaluable asset in life. I am sorry for your loss.

  108. What a gift from the universe, that kiss on the head. So sorry for your family’s loss, Chris.

  109. Chris may your Mom rest in peace and the thoughts of her forever bring a smile to you face that way we will all know what you are thinking.

  110. Deepest condolences. I’m no fine furniture maker but I’d have the same easy “Grandpa inspired me” because he was the one with the woodshop. And in more than a few ways he did, but my real inspiration was my grandmother who was a compulsive artist. She outlived him and for the years she was alone our phone conversations almost always turned to what project we were working on and conversations about design. And she pushed me. Glad she did because the urn I made for her remains was the finest work I had done to date.

  111. I offer you my sincere condolences at this time of sorrow for you and your family. I know well that difficult period that comes in our lives when we lose our parents. Don’t forget to be kind and compassionate to yourself during this time and the necessary tasks and events that come with it.

  112. So sorry for your loss. I remember when my mom died (my dad had died earlier) I realized that generationally we were alone and it was time for my brothers and sister to step up. It felt strange not having an older generation looking over us. My condolences for your loss.

  113. My condolences to you and your family.

    That is a very nice essay about your mother.

  114. My condolences on your mother’s death. May you always remember what you want to remember about her and quickly forget what you want to forget.
    All best,
    Gerry Cox

  115. You don’t know me and I only know you through your writing. I have felt the pain when a parent is lost.
    Your mother gave me a gift (you) quite a few years ago which has enriched my life. I am very thankful.

  116. Chris, I lost my mother suddenly and it was only coincidence that I was visiting her in her new home in another state at the time. I am grateful that I had a few days with her before she suddenly became so ill and died soon thereafter. It was hard to adjust to not having that “Rock that was my Mom in my life. I was fortunate to have had her to lead me in the right direction in life. I miss her still, even after nearly 20 years. I send my condolences to you on the loss of your Mom.

  117. Chris

    Sorry to hear about your mom. I grew up in Ozark Arkansas and live in north Arkansas. I have followed your career since way back. My woodworking is mostly Habitat for Humanity. I still ask which end of the nail goes in to the board, but try to learn. We (about 6 to 8 old farts and maybe a young-in or 2) have finished 7 homes (not houses) and look forward to the end of the pandamit and LOWER lumber prices. I have a work shop in my head “someday”.

    Once again sad to hear about your mom. I sure miss mine.

    Blessings,
    James

  118. Chris,
    I was saddened to read of your dear mother’s passing. You have my deepest sympathies. Both of my parents are gone and I continually think of them and the parts of them that reside in me. Then there are my grandparents on my dad’s side that I spent many weekends with and vacations traveling with as I grew up and took on their values too. You have the memories of your mother and father to comfort you, always remember and cherish that.
    Sincerely,
    Kim

  119. Your mom graced us here in Santa Fe for many years — it was too short a time. She gave and gave, and served as a bright beacon on life’s journey. She was both hardened, and softened, in the crucible of life. Her positivity and gracious nature — in the face of serious challenges — was an inspiration to all those she touched. May the light of her life continue to illuminate ours. And to say thanks for her life, we must pass along that light to others. Peace and love to you and your entire family.

  121. I am so sorry to read this. We have never met, but I believe your mother raised a fine son.

  122. Words never seem adequate to to express the sorrow of loosing a loved one. I never seem to know what to say to people I care about under these circumstances. But I try to let them know I am thinking about them and I care deeply and I share in their their loss some little bit. We all have lost someone we love and it’s never easy. My heart goes out to you and your family during this difficult time.

  123. Awesome piece about your mom! it seems like she was a strong and wonderful woman! I feel and am so sorry for your loss! My mom was a very strong woman, as well, and hardly a day goes by that I don’t miss her! You and your family have my sincerest condolences! Thankfully, she will always be with you, in everything you do.
    Take good care.

  126. Losing parents is not at all an easy thing to deal with, especially if you were close. I lost my father 26 years ago and my mother 15 years ago. I find myself wishing they were around to ask for the advice they were always willing to offer. So I want to pass on my sincere and deep condolences to you and your family.

  127. My parents had me late so… yes, I know how you feel. I am saddened and sorry for you loss. My parents both taught me patience and that any work worth doing was worth doing to the very best of my abilities. They also taught me humility as they noticed that some things came easier to me than most. My adolescent frustrations aside. Woodworking still is my, next to my wife, the most consistent reminder of my fallibility. My connection to my paternal g-pa’s woodworking skills might be evident in my own, but I’m not so sure. He died several years before I was born and I have never seen his work though it was legendary to my father. He was a joiner who built courthouses around the South. What my father bestowed were the basics; how to hammer straight, saw straight and cut a miter. More than that, the skills I possess were hard won and no one paid the price but me. Books and magazines like the one you used to work at were my guide. FWW was and is the exemplar publication but I kept up PopWood because of you, Fitz, Lang and the other contributors whose wisdom and skills were evident in every issue. What I appreciated most about your writing is the facility for being human and making that come through on the page. That’s something. As you said, we are not clones. I am my mother’s son as much as I am my father’s.

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