Pam’s “can do it” attitude will be missed. She was always ready to serve her community and did. One of the lower 9th ward strongest support has left a legacy for us to follow. We must hold on to her source of strength as our guide. She is gone but her legacy will light the way for us in the future. Thank you Pam for being you for all of us. My prayers are with the family.

Even from the remote villages of Kyrgyzstan, the loss of Pam is deeply felt. Hazel and I send our strength and love to our home community in the Nine.

I met Pam two years ago at the Corps Reform Network meeting in New Orleans. Although I heard a lot of good speakers that day, Pam’s words were particularly compelling–and stick with me to this day. Thank you, Pam, for your passion, your drive, and your infectious laugh.

Pam was not only a tireless advocate for her neighborhood, she was a role model and motivator for many people in the community. She always had time and a kind word for her friends. Pam made things happen in Holy Cross and across the city. With her wise counsel and determination, she was a force. I treasured the friendship and moral support she gave me. She leaves a huge void, that will be hard to fill but the best legacy that she can leave is for all of us to continue her work. God Bless you Pam and Holy Cross, I wish that I could be with you in person but know that I may be in Portland but my heart is in New Orleans today.

Pam made me want to do more, be more. She is one of the reasons I am now a resident of Holy Cross, one of the reasons I have committed myself to helping my community. I admired her like nobody’s business, and now I don’t know what I’ll do without her. I just know I HAVE to do more, because DOING was Pam’s thing, and it should be ours, too.

The residents of Holy Cross will remember Pam at our annual Holiday Party next week, and as the HCNA VP, I invite friends of Pam and of the Holy Cross and L9 community to come. Please bring a potluck item and your photos and memories of Pam. We will be celebrating, not just memorializing, so come ready to enjoy the fete, as Pam always did.

The HCNA’s annual holiday party will be next Thursday, December 10th, from 5:30-9:00 p.m. at 4804 Dauphine Street.

Please check the HCNA’s website for more updates on Pam and other Holy Cross and L9 news, and please comment there, too, as it is the site the community and residents frequent most regularly. http://www.helpholycross.org.

It is so very, very rare to be in the presence of someone who possesses the calm and composure but also the energy and commitment that Pam had. Even though we didn’t see each other as often as I would have liked, I feel a deep sadness that we have all lost that presence in our lives. She was a beautiful woman whose contribution to this city cannot be overstated.

I met Pam shortly after Katrina, when we both became Advisors to the Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health. It turned out we had friends in common, both on the Gulf Coast and in her native Roxbury (Boston). Pam’s selfless and tireless commitment to livable communities for all was matched only by her legendary warmth and kindness. Working with her to broaden the world’s notion’s of “gulf Coast,” “community” and “recovery” was always creative and tons of fun. We once took an educational FEMA Trailer - the “KatrinaRitaVille Express” - on a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard, where Pam and the Hot 8 Brass Band really broke things down for the East Coast literati. What a time! I miss Pam dearly.

So sad. I can’t say I knew Pam, but in the weirdo climate of reporting for Gambit and WWOZ after Katrina, I had occasion to call her up several times. She always made me feel a little bit more secure that at least one person was fighting the good fight, with intelligence and wit and sensitivity.

Pam was gentle and humble unselfish community servant. May her service work, and life be a lasting legacy for all servants