Donna Howard
July 3, 1946 - July 30, 2022
It is with profound grief that we share the news that Donna Howard, our dear community mate and founder of the Olive Branch, has died. We are grateful for the life she lived, attentive to innumerable friendships she cultivated in Duluth and around the world, and to her determination to build more just and peaceful society through equal measure of kindness, persistence, and defiance. Our deep love and sympathy go out to her close friends and family, and in particular her sons Jason and Ben: it has been a blessing to share in the love and wisdom that your mother carried with her to everyone she met on her life journey. For the guests, volunteers, and alumni of Loaves and Fishes, Donna was a mentor, a dear friend, an adopted mother and grandmother, and our moral compass.
Some further details on the memorial:
POTLUCK:
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Food can be dropped off at Leif Erikson Park as early as 10am for those wanting to participate in the parade.
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Please bring serving utensils needed for your dish, and be sure to label them and your dish so we make sure they are returned!
PARADE:
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Feel free to bring instruments, banners from past events, or just yourself.
PARKING:
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For Parade goers, there is parking on both sides of Jefferson Street and the avenues on Sunday.
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For those going directly to Leif Erikson, there is parking on London Rd as well as free public lots at the Rose Garden and on 10th Ave East
CEREMONY:
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Dress warm, the forecast calls for sunny but autumn weather.
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Chairs will be provided but we expect a big crowd so if you are able bring a blanket or camping chair for yourself.
Who we are
Loaves and Fishes is a community of people inspired by Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement to build “a new society within the shell of the old.” We believe in a world that is abundant with resources and love, and that there is enough for everyone if we share. As a community we offer family-style hospitality to people experiencing homelessness; operate a no-cost neighborhood bicycle shop to promote shared economics; organize with our neighbors to protect everyone’s right to housing; and study and practice nonviolence in our interpersonal relationships and in our politics. Loaves and Fishes is entirely volunteer-run and receives no government funding.
Current live-in members of Loaves and Fishes Community are: Drew Anderson, Shelly Bruecken, Chelsea Froemke, M Hakes, Joel Kilgour, Tone Lanzillo, David McComas-Bussa, Anne Schepers, and Kate Young. Many other people are part of our community as volunteers, donors, meal providers and advocates. We invite you to join us in whatever ways you can.