A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings

Subject: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 01:57 AM

A space to mourn for those whose lives were lost and to celebrate their lives, to contemplate the other injuries and losses, and to celebrate the goodness in those who stepped forward to help. A place to consider thoughtfully the individuals involved. Take the politics elsewhere.

From the Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) (with links to further articles, below):

A look at those killed and injured in Saturday's deadly shooting in Arizona. Six people died; here are some details about their lives:

JOHN ROLL, 63:
Named Arizona's chief federal judge in 2006, U.S. District Judge John M. Roll won acclaim for a career as a respected jurist and leader who had pushed to beef up the court's strained bench to handle a growing number of border crime-related cases. Roll was appointed to the federal bench in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush. He previously served as a state trial judge and as a judge on the midlevel Arizona Court of appeals, and as a county and state prosecutor. Bishop Gerald Kicanas of the Roman Catholic Church's Tucson Diocese said Roll was an active parishioner. "He lived his faith as a servant of our nation for the cause of justice," Kicanas said. Roll was a Pennsylvania native who got his law degree from the University of Virginia. He is survived by his wife, Maureen, three sons, and five grandchildren.
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CHRISTINA TAYLOR GREEN, 9:
Christina Taylor Green was only 9, but the third-grader already was an aspiring politician. Her parents say Christina had just been elected to the student council at Mesa Verde Elementary School and had been interested in politics from a young age. She already had told her parents she wanted to attend Penn State and have a career that involved helping those less fortunate than her. The brown-eyed athletic girl loved to swim with her 11-year-old brother Dallas, her lone sibling. Her mother, Roxanna Green, said Christina also loved animals, singing, dancing and gymnastics. She also was the only girl on her Canyon del Oro Little League baseball team. Her grandfather, former major-league pitcher Dallas Green, managed the 1980 world champion Philadelphia Phillies. Christina's father, John Green, is a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Christina was born on the tragic day of Sept. 11, 2001.
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GABE ZIMMERMAN, 30:
Gabe Zimmerman, the director of community outreach for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, handled thousands of issues raised by constituents out of the congresswoman's offices in Tucson and Sierra Vista. Zimmerman was one of the Giffords staffers who organized many public events where voters could meet Giffords and talk to her about issues. Co-workers say Zimmerman, who had a master's degree in social work, cared passionately about helping people. Zimmerman's mother, Emily Nottingham, said politics was a good fit for him because it combined policy and making a difference for others. "He had a real interest in helping people and had a real caring for social justice," Nottingham said. Zimmerman, who was engaged, had set a wedding date for 2012.
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PHYLLIS SCHNECK, 79:
When Phyllis Schneck and her husband retired, they spent their winters in Tucson and summers in their native Rutherford, N.J. "They didn't want to ever have to deal with the snow again," said Schneck's daughter, B.J. Offutt of Colorado Springs, Colo. Schneck, who continued to return to Tucson in the winters even after her husband died in 2007, was a homemaker who raised her two daughters and one son and had a talent for cooking. In retirement, Schneck kept herself occupied by volunteering at her church. Her home in Tucson was less than four miles from the supermarket where the shooting took place. Offutt said her mother's appearance at the store was surprising, because she normally shopped at a different store and wasn't very political. Schneck is survived by her three children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
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DORWAN STODDARD, 76:
Everyone who knew Dorwan Stoddard thought he would die of complications from one of his 17 heart stents, or during one his numerous construction projects at Mountain Avenue Church of Christ. During his latest project, he fell 20 feet when a ladder buckled, said his pastor and friend Michael Nowak. When the shooting started Saturday, he dove to the ground, covering his wife Mavy, who was shot in the leg three times. The couple had been grade school sweethearts growing up in Tucson. After their respective spouses died, they independently moved back to retire, became reacquainted and fell in love all over again. Mavy Stoddard talked to her husband, who was shot in the head, for 10 minutes while he breathed heavily. Then he stopped breathing. He had two sons from his first marriage, and Mavy has three daughters.
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DOROTHY MORRIS, 76:
Dorothy Morris, known to her friends as "Dot," was a retired homemaker and secretary who lived north of Tucson in Oro Valley, Ariz. Dorothy died in the shooting. Her husband George, a former Marine and retired airline pilot, remains hospitalized after suffering two gunshot wounds. One of the couple's daughters said George Morris tried to protect his wife of 50 years by throwing her to the ground and trying to get on top of her to shield her. The couple both grew up in Reno, Nev., and were high school sweethearts. They settled in Oro Valley around 1995. Sue Blinman, who lives next door in a retirement community, said the couple traveled extensively and escaped Tucson's summer heat by heading up to their home in the eastern Arizona mountain community of Pinetop. "They were always good neighbors," Blinman said.

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 01:57 AM

(so sorry, meant to make it BS - non-music)

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: open mike
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 02:10 AM

maybe there should be some music here...
forever Young comes to mind...

also praying for recovery for other injured victims...

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 02:24 AM

Gabrielle Giffords was a breath of fresh air in southern Arizona. I mourn for the loss of her representation in Congress, and pray that she can return to a meaningful life with her family and friends.

Thanks to the people who stepped forward in the crisis:

Four Tucsonans stopped gunman: Ordinary citizens became heroes:

Patricia Maisch, grabbed away the shooter's magazine of bullets
Daniel Hernandez, administered first aid, in particular to Gabby Giffords
Roger Salzgeber and Bill D. Badger tackled the shooter
a fifth, Joseph Zamudio, helped tackle the shooter

~ Becky from Tucson

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 02:29 AM

I mourn also that a young man's mind could go so far wrong without getting help before it was too late.

Praise for the emergency workers and doctors who have helped those they could.

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: Genie
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 04:51 AM

Thanks for posting the info about the 6 who were killed, Dancer.   The media have given nearly all the attention to Congressional Representative Giffords and 9-year-old Christina and a little less to Judge Rolls, but I've read and heard very little about the others. It's good for their stories to be told.   This is a real tragedy for so many families, including the family of the disturbed young man who opened fire on these people.

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: GUEST,moira(flyingcat)
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 06:50 AM

What I can't understand is that it was well known this lad had mental health problems, how come he had a gun liscence?

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 01:00 PM

I mourn for ared Loughner's parents, from whom he was estranged. They are devastated.

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: olddude
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 01:05 PM

I mourn for all of them and the millions of other that have died from such senseless acts of violence. I mourn for our society that has lost compassion and value of human life. I mourn for a country that turns this terrible act into sound bites for political rhetoric. I mourn for my grand childen that have to grow up with escalating violence and hate.

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: Greg F.
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 01:56 PM

Kumbaya, my lord, Kumbaya............

I mourn for those unwilling to assign responsibility for this outrage.

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: Donuel
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 02:05 PM

mornings are the worst. Waking up and having it all come to mind and worry ir I am about to hear about a turn for the wrose.

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 11:27 PM

My son is a freshman at the University of Arizona. His first day of classes are delayed a day due to the Obama visit, and I hope he is able to go hear it.

He spent his holiday break here in Texas, and this happened two days before he returned. He knew something about it, but I felt the need to prepare him for a changed city. He returned yesterday to a place that has a huge psychic wound, and his campus is now at the heart of it, as congressman Giffords heals in the university medical center. (I've heard both -man and -woman, but I'm treating it like "actor," one name for the job).

The debates will be many and varied. There is a lot of finger pointing and there is a mentally ill young man in the spotlight. I feel horror for his family - at age 22 he is an adult, there was little they could do to contain or control him. I have a brother who is mentally ill, undiagnosed and untreated. Every time I hear of a shooting in my home town, I can only cross my fingers and hope he isn't the shooter.

People are trying to pull back from the right vs left arguments, and I've heard no concession or contrition from the worst purveyors of hate. Instead, they claim high moral ground and suggest the left is using this as a way to muzzle them. Perhaps some forensic information about what this young man was thinking and doing will reveal his sources, but when all else has been discussed, look to health care. Because if good mental health care had been available, this could well have been avoided.

Rant off.

SRS

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: LadyJean
Date: 12 Jan 11 - 12:50 AM

Loughner's parents are in for a holiday in Hell. CNN, the tamest of tne news networks, was showing photos somebody took of their back yard. Their private life is over.

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 12 Jan 11 - 01:08 AM

Suzi Hileman took Christina Green to the event and is in the hospital recovering from three gunshots and a shattered hip. May she have the strength to overcome her feeling of responsibility for the loss of Christina.

Subject: RE: A space to mourn - Ariz. shootings
From: Will Fly
Date: 12 Jan 11 - 05:07 AM

I was talking to family on the phone yesterday. My sister, who lives in the part of Tucson where the shooting happened, went shopping the other day to the supermarket - a little later than usual. She found her car's way blocked by tapes and police...

If she'd been there at her usual time, I might well have been among those in mourning now. A sobering thought.