[NFBV-Announce] The Passing of a True Friend and Advocate

[jackibruce6 at gmail.com]

From: Tracy Soforenko, President

 

 

It is with great  sadness that I share the passing of our friend and fellow
advocate, Mary Durbin. Mary passed away suddenly on Tuesday.

 

For many of us, Mary was a sincere and loyal friend and champion for blind
people. She showed her love for people through her generosity, compassion,
and willingness to support her family, her Federation & Lions communities,
the blind veterans she served, and anyone who experienced the privilege of
being in her vicinity.

 

Mary's commitment to her husband, Scott, and her children Brian, Theresa,
Tim, and Mike was always at the forefront of everything she pursued.

 

Mary was a leader in our Chesapeake Bay chapter of the National Federation
Of The Blind and the Virginia Beach blind Lions club. Mary led the local
chapter and was often the champion and leader for many activities that
encouraged people to reach beyond their comfort zones and aim for new
opportunities. She was a leader in the Lions community at many levels and
was committed to making a difference for the members of these organizations.
Her impact on the community at large was profound.

 

Mary touched the lives of hundreds in our Silver Bells program for blind and
low vision seniors across the Commonwealth. She was the steady force helping
to recruit new participants for the program, the comforting voice helping
prospective participants get registered, and the dedicated staff member
waiting in the breakfast area to lend an extra hand to anyone who needed it.
She had a knack for teaching technology for people who had recently lost
their sight. Her presence will be sorely missed in that area of our
movement.

 

Mary organized programs for first time National Federation Of The Blind
convention participants to enable them to take full advantage of this
experience. She matched first timers with seasoned mentors, but she took a
personal interest in ensuring that everyone's experience was a positive one.

 

Mary was involved in advocacy efforts at the local state and national level.
She was welcoming and warm, very likely why she was instrumental in helping
legislators understand our advocacy priorities as personal stories and not
just policy measures.

 

Mary and I often discussed how to engage others in our work together. She
was eager to have me ask someone to take on a task but was always willing to
assist the individual in completing the task successfully.

 

Mary was a true friend and she will be deeply  missed.

 

Funeral plans and other details are not known at this time.

 

 

Peace,

 

Jacki Bruce

 

mailto:jackibruce6 at gmail.com or membership at nfbv.org
<mailto:membership at nfbv.org>  

tel:(757)291-1789

 

Find us on Facebook @NationalFederationoftheBlindofVirginia

Find us on Instragram @nfbofvirginia

Subscribe to our Youtube: NFB Virginia

www.nfbv.org <http://www.nfbv.org/> 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbv-announce_nfbnet.org/attachments/20260716/2e2b993a/attachment.htm>