Natalie Sewell

Natalie Sewell, age 79 of Madison, Wisconsin passed away peacefully, surrounded by family on Tuesday, July 17, 2018, at Agrace Hospice.

Natalie was born on September 15, 1938, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the daughter of Albert and Fannie Paperno. When Natalie was five, her family moved to California where she spent most of her childhood. Natalie graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1960 and got her master's degree in 1962 from the University of South Carolina. Natalie touched many lives throughout her professional career as an editor in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin, and later she worked as an editor for the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. Afterwards, she worked as a Drug and Alcohol Counselor at the Madison Family Institute and at New Start. She took early retirement at the age of 50, and became an innovative landscape quilter and received national acclaim. Natalie also wrote books about quilting and collaborated and produced TV specials with Nancy Zieman of Nancy's Notions.

Natalie was an avid gardener, and her home attracted many admirers in her neighborhood. Her garden was one of the gardens featured in the Olbrich Gardens House Tour in 2014.

Natalie is survived by her beloved husband of 47 years, Richard Sewell; her identical twin sister, Sheila (Paul) Kasprzyk of Seattle, Washington and her sister, Karen (Avi) Chetrit of Modiin, Israel; her three children, A.J. (Sarah) Love, of Madison, Wisconsin, Devorah (Yossi) Schwartz, of Chicago, Illinois, and Rebecca (Matt Dudley) Sewell of Madison, Wisconsin; and dear friend, Linda Micke. Natalie was a devoted and loving grandmother to her twelve grandchildren, James Peranteau, Rochel Schwartz, Ben Sewell, Esther Schwartz, Leah Schwartz, Elijah Love, Aryeh Schwartz, Mendel Schwartz, Mushke Schwartz, Bracha Schwartz, Avremel Schwartz, and Levi Schwartz.

Funeral Services will be held at CRESS FUNERAL HOME, 3610 Speedway Road on Thursday, July 19, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. A visitation will be held at the funeral home at 12:00 noon until the time of the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Dane County Humane Society or Olbrich Gardens.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Services
3610 Speedway Road Madison
(608) 238-3434