Public memorial service for Ruth Anne Maddox is Dec. 6
Posted by shan on November 30, 2008
A public memorial service for Ruth Anne Maddox is planned for Saturday, Dec. 6 at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church, 3611 Berens Road NW., Prior Lake (north side of County Road 42, east of County Road 83) at 10:30 a.m.Her family has requested that memorials be directed to: Southern Valley Alliance for Battered Women, P.O. Box 166, Belle Plaine, MN 56011 (please include Ruth Anne’s name in the memorial).
Condolence messages will be forwarded to her family and should be sent to: Lipka Family, c/o Shakopee Valley News, P.O. Box 8, Shakopee, MN 55379.
http://www.shakopeenews.com/news/general_news/public_memorial_service_ruth_anne_maddox_dec_6-7669
To read and leave messages of condolences and stories about Ruth Anne, go to: http://www.shakopeenews.com/news/general_news/help_us_remember_ruth_anne-7592
Ruth Anne visited Minnesota Valley NOW in March 2007 to cover our Women’s History Month Feminist Forum for the Savage Pacer and the Prior Lake American (article here). We were so pleased to receive attention from the local media, but more than that, enjoyed meeting Ruth Anne and talking with her about our group. She was friendly and open-minded and seemed to just fit right in. She wasn’t just a reporter, she was a new friend, and Beth and I were compelled to make her an honorary member.
The more I learn about Ruth Anne, reading the stories from people who worked with her and knew her in the community through her work as a reporter, the more I realize that everyone who met her felt this way – that she was a friend. I started working at Southwest Newspapers just a couple of weeks before Ruth Anne’s death. She was one of the few people I knew before I went to work there and was a friendly, welcoming face. It’s been clear the past few weeks how much she touched her coworkers, how much they cared for her, and how devastated they are. SW Newspapers is truly a family and Ruth Anne was a dearly loved member of that family.
It’s clear that our work towards eliminating violence against women is critical. And unending. MN Valley NOW has a strong commitment to education and raising awareness about violence against women. We’ve worked closely with Southern Valley Alliance for Battered Women for many years now – from donating toiletries and gifts for women seeking their help, to inviting SVABW to speak at our meetings, to V-Day Prior Lake 2008, an event that raised nearly $4,500 for SVABW and V-Day’s Katrina Warriors and was attended by over 300 people.
We can’t do a V-Day event every year. But there are so many “little” things we can do. We can continue to volunteer our time and provide financial support to SVABW and other organizations that are working to help survivors of domestic abuse. We can increase awareness and education through our monthly meetings, presentations and speakers. We can write letters to the editors of our local papers during Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October) and all through the year.
And we can remember Ruth Anne.
