American infants receive special gifts from 'hidden grandma'

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Rich Romero
  • 423rd Air Base Squadron Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE ALCONBURY, England (AFPN) --  An 82-year-old woman from Benwick, England, fills a grandmotherly role to infants born to servicemembers here, even though she has never met a single baby she serves.

With no other ties to the tri-base area of Royal Air Forces Alconbury, Molesworth and Upwood, England, or the U.S. military, Queenie Vince has donated about 280 hand-knitted sets of baby clothes to the family support center layette program during the past six years.

“It gives me something to do,” Mrs. Vince said. “I hate to just sit and watch the telly.”

By spending a few minutes with Mrs. Vince and long-time friend and neighbor, Rosemary Johnson, the arrangement appears to have started as a form of therapy. Mrs. Vince started knitting and occasionally crocheting baby blankets for the layette program a year following the death of her husband, John.

“My husband used to encourage me a lot,” Mrs. Vince said, while pointing out the multitude of tapestries, handmade dolls, paintings and drawings that adorn the walls and shelves of her sitting room. “I used to do a lot of tapestry (similar to needlepoint or cross-stitch), but not anymore. I have too much now. What would I do with more? So, I gave it up.”

Fortunately, she did not give up knitting.

“Rosemary got me involved,” said Mrs. Vince, about the layette program.

Mrs. Johnson, a custodial contractor on base for 14 years, used to clean the family support center and “the idea just went from there.”

The partnership suits all rather nicely. Mrs. Johnson buys all the yarn, buttons and miscellaneous supplies. She submits receipts to Dawn Centofanti, volunteer coordinator at the center. Some of the money donated to the layette program from the officer and civilian spouses and enlisted spouses clubs is used to reimburse Mrs. Johnson.

Mrs. Centofanti lets Mrs. Vince know what particular color she needs for the coming months, and Mrs. Vince determines the stitch and style from there.

Until recently, the two women had never even met because Mrs. Vince rarely leaves her Benwick home, about 18 miles from here.

“For years, we’ve sent letters and Christmas cards,” Mrs. Centofanti said. “Now I’ve finally met the person behind these things of beauty.”

Mrs. Vince does not even accept much credit for the elegantly crafted baby sweater, hat, bootie and mitten sets.

“Rosemary does all the work,” she said.

Still, she proudly displays among her handmade creations the U.S. European Command coin presented to her in 1999 by EUCOM’s command sergeant major at the time. There is even a stack of certificates of appreciation from tri-base area officials neatly kept in a cabinet behind her knitting chair.

“She’s a true hidden hero,” Mrs. Centofanti said. “Queenie is special in the sense that she’s the one and only (volunteer) not affiliated in some way with the base.”

Since the center’s baby layette program is funded strictly through donations, the day Mrs. Vince no longer feels like knitting will create a void for the entire community.

“You can’t find hand-knitted items (in stores),” Mrs. Centofanti said. “If you can find them (at markets), we couldn’t afford them.”

Mrs. Vince may have never met any of the 280-plus infants she has knitted for, but she provided a grandmother’s touch nonetheless. (Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe News Service)