Meg Perry

Dear Friends:

Meg Perry died on December 10, in New Orleans in a freeway accident with the Frida Bus.  She came from Portland Maine to work on Katrina Relief, and has toiled tirelessly for the past 3 months, gutting houses, clearing debris, planting a garden, recruiting volunteers and inspiring us all.

She was an activist, environmentalist, and communicator.  She loved to read to children and went around to the schools and helped with reading programs.  She supported United Peace Relief by bringing her crew to us and spending a week clearing and gutting houses.  She coordinated the people who volunteered to come to do Katrina Relief from Maine. 

All of us are in shock and pain because of the loss of Meg.  Our hearts go out to her family and the wonderful young people who have worked by her side.  She is our hero, we are thankful for her work and the hope that she has given the people who have suffered in the Katrina Disaster. 

Hug your family and friends and pray that we can find a way to make sense of this huge loss. 

Love to every one.

Lynn Meadows
Nikki Wilson
Polly Lynn
Carol Stachurski
Deborah Mead
Elaine Langley

The picture is of Meg behind the Frida Bus, November 23, when they arrived at the United Peace Relief camp in Slidell, LA. 
 

Join us to share your remembrances of Meg by participating in our Journal.

Obituary for Meg Perry

Megan Blythe Perry

Megan Blythe Perry, 26, died Saturday, December, 10, 2005 in a vehicle accident in New Orleans, LA.

Megan was born in Würzburg, Germany November 24, 1979, daughter of Robin C. and Rosalie A. Perry, while the family was stationed overseas with the U.S. Army.  Megan graduated in the top 10 of her 1998 Brunswick H.S. class.  She attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY and graduate with honors in 2002.

At the time of her death, Megan was working with multiple grassroots organizations in the gulf area to aid in the hurricane relief and rebuilding efforts in that region.  Megan was a resident of Portland, Maine where she was an active and vocal participant in the humanitarian organization, People's Free Space.  She was passionate about social justice, sustainable energy, organic agriculture, and protection of the earth's resources and environment.

Megan is survived by her parents, Robin and Rosalie Perry, of Brunswick, ME and Vero Beach, FL, a sister and brother-in-law, Jennifer and Jason Lanter, of Oxford, OH, her maternal grandmother M. Doris Small of Oakland, ME, and many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Family and friends are invited to share in a celebration of her life at
the Brunswick United Methodist Church, 320 Church Road, Brunswick, ME at 2pm, Saturday, December 17, 2005.

The "Meg Perry Memorial Fund" has been established to support the continuation of educational programs for hurricane survivors and to sustain the humanitarian efforts to which Megan dedicated her life.  Contributions may be mailed to "The Meg Perry Memorial Fund" c/o Key Bank, 172 Maine Street, Brunswick, ME, 04011.
 

Pictures of Meg Perry

Meg became proficient with a chainsaw doing Katrina relief work.  Here she is teaching Trouble how to use the chainsaw.

Our wonderful volunteers sharing a meal and some warm sunshine on November 30.  Meg is the one in bliss in the center.

Campfire and dinner Trouble, Peter and Meg on the log.

Meg was the leader of the group that came in the Frida Bus, from Portland Maine.

This picture was taken during our meeting with several relief organizations, on November 30, 2005, Meg is sitting on the right.

 

Letter from Meg Perry

Hello my dearly beloved fellow volunteers from the Gulf Coast! I know that you all got that big email from Lee the other day about a contact list, just like I did. I wrote back to him and told him about the trip that I've been organizing since I got back to Maine. See, there's this big, green bus with a couch, bench, kid's area, free box, library, kitchen and rooftop stage. Her name's the Frida Bus and I hang out with her a lot at home in Portland, Maine. The People's Free Space (who own the bus) conspired with me on a plan to fill up our mobile community space with volunteers and supplies and come back home to Mobile and all of you.
 

Now here comes the sad part of my tale. When I got a response from Mr. Lee, he was talking about the whole crew and spirit that I experienced down south in the past tense! I ain't seen no fat lady singin'! Ain't nothin' over. I came home to get a whole new big
wonderful crew together... y'all can't all go and leave! I'm bringing back some of my favorite people to meet my new family in Mobile and my favorite bus too. Please come back! I talked to a lot of people down south who said that they were coming back. I hope that you all do. There's gonna be no lack of love in Theodore. It's not like the work there is done, you know that. And it's one thing to just go and feed people when they're hungry and take away the most dire immediate need, but what about all the infrastructure that was destroyed? It'll be too easy for the dominant, corporate infrastructure to take back over stronger than before. These people need advocates and alternatives. It just doesn't seem fair to take someone who's lost everything, give them food, water, diapers and hope and then leave them as poor and forgotten as before. We're not done helping.

Please come back.
 

love,
-Meg
 

United Peace Relief
P.O. Box 933, Ukiah, CA  95482
707-462-2439, 707-463-1952 FAX
info@unitedpeacerelief.org | www.unitedpeacerelief.org

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