Shelly Zegart, one of the founding visionaries of the Alliance for American Quilts (Quilt Alliance), died at home in Louisville, Kentucky, on July 22, 2025, after succumbing to a brief but grave illness. Shelly‘s beloved husband, Kenny, died earlier this year. Shelly’s contributions to the scholarly world of quilts are remarkable, and her loss is deeply felt.
In 1981, Shelly co-founded the Kentucky Quilt Project, an effort to collect data on quilts made in Kentucky through a series of Quilt Days held across Kentucky. The project inspired groups in almost all 50 states to conduct their own quilt surveys based on the KQP model.
To find a home for this growing body of quilt documentation, Zegart, along with Quilts Inc. founders Karey Bresenhan and Nancy Puentes, and Eunice Ray, founded the Alliance for American Quilts in 1993. Much of the data collected by the state quilt projects is now archived in the Quilt Index, another project that Shelly and fellow AAQ board members worked tirelessly to help establish.
For thirteen years, Shelly housed the AAQ headquarters in her home in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2006, when the organization moved its office to Asheville, NC, and Shelly retired from the board, she and her husband, Dr. Kenny Zegart, established the Zegart Fund to help sustain the AAQ. Devoted colleagues, friends, and family made matching gifts in honor of Shelly’s work with the AAQ.
In 2011, Shelly served as executive producer and host of a 9-part documentary series “Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics,” that aired on more than 200 public television stations. In 2020, Shelly received the Governor’s Award in the Arts – Folk Heritage Award to honor her outstanding contributions to the state’s artistic traditions.
In addition to her incredible life in quilts, Shelly was the founder and President/CEO of Kentucky to the World, Inc., a nonprofit whose mission is to elevate the cultural and intellectual reputation of Kentucky on the global stage.
The Quilt Alliance would not exist today without Shelly’s dedication, drive for excellence, generous support, and deep love and appreciation for quilts.
We welcome you to share your memories of Shelly in the comments.
Link to Shelly’s obituary in the Louisville Courier Journal.
Shelly Zegart at a 2006 board meeting of the Alliance for American Quilts in Washington, DC.
I worked with Shelly for years on “Why Quilts Matter” in various capacities. I’ve never met anyone with such zeal, drive, and talent for getting things done. She inspired the term “multi-tasker” as I could never keep up with all the balls she had in the air and how she whipped around from one project to another, successfully managing all of them. I am also heartbroken to learn she died of a “quick and severe illness” because my mother, who taught me to quilt, died of pancreatic cancer after a 3 week diagnosis. My continuing love of quilting has been a gift from both my mother and from Shelly.
Thanks so much for sharing this remembrance, Joan.
As a quilter I find this story fascinating. Pam
She seemed to be unstoppable. I saw the “Why Quilts Matter” program on local PBS and was so impressed. I purchased the DVD and continue to watch and share it when possible. She must have been devastated to see the flooding that destroyed so much of the Quilt Alliance. Hopefully she’s watching and can see the donations helping to maintain her legacy.
Thank you so much for your message, Diane. Shelly really was so determined and thorough with her many endeavors, and her legacy is broad and deep.
I met Shelly in the late 80s while I was helping a friend with his quilt business by traveling to quilt shows all over the country to set up, sell quilts, etc., and it was always such a pleasure to see her, have conversations, compare quilts, and visit. At the time, I too, was married to a doctor, and between that and our love of quilts, we must have felt a kinship. She was so incredibly interesting! Whether we happened to meet up in Houston, NYC, San Francisco, Nashville, etc., seeing Shelly was a highlight!
Pat, thanks so much for sharing this remembrance of Shelly.