Steven Garner

Hospice, Prison Reform and Transformational Consultant Principal Quilter and Storyteller

Wednesday, September 18

Born in New Orleans, Steven Garner was incarcerated as a young man. Steven served 31 years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, but his personal transformation began years earlier. Upon sentencing, he was determined to change but his discovered that the prison system didn’t provide many opportunities; that is until a new Warden began a hospice program and asked for volunteers.

Steven became a Hospice Volunteer under Warden Burl Cain’s Leadership from 1995-2016.

Steven learned to quilt to raise money for the Angola Hospice Program where he served as President over the Hospice Volunteers for 24+ years. Steven has made over 1,000 quilts to support the Angola End-of-Life Care Program, helping men to depart this earth with compassion, dignity and respect.

Steven’s quilts have traveled across the United States and hang in museums such as the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. and the Historic New Orleans Collection Museum in New Orleans.

His work in hospice in corrections and his quilts have been featured by Oprah in the Serving Life documentary on Netflix and several other nationally renowned documentaries, the book Grace Before Dying by Lori Waselchuk and Lawrence N. Powell as well as many national magazines. Most recently, he was featured in Quilt Folk Magazine (Issue 28 Colorado).

Steven was released from prison in January 2022 and resides with family in Colorado Springs, CO.

Steven’s gift for storytelling and juxtaposition penetrates his keynote addresses and signature quilting style with different patterns and textiles.