Tiffany Lynn Walker: 5/21/75 – 12/13/16
Last Tuesday, Johnstown Put People First member Tiffany Walker passed away at home. Another PPF member, Bella Oliveras, was with her when she passed.
Tiffany was a new member — she had been in PPF for less than a year — but she made a major impact on the Johnstown OC and its members. She lost both of her legs this past March due to a blood clot issue, and was unable to get prosthetic legs that would have allowed her to move around freely. She was also dealing with chronic pain. With all of the challenges Tiffany faced, she’s remembered most of all as a giving and selfless person: When the Johnstown Organizing Committee decided to start doing fundraising drives to support our disabled members she pushed Bella, who is trying to get a motorized wheel-chair, to go first.
Tiffany was someone who fought for herself and for the people around her, and someone who is worth fighting for. She was someone that the system, and especially the health care system, abandoned. But still she brought her strength and her energy to the fight in Put People First. We’ll miss Tiffany, and we’ll carry on with her in our hearts and on our minds.
Tiffany’s family and friends are raising money to cover her funeral costs. Please support them by making a donation here.
Bella wrote a poem recently, which she shared at the Put People First! PA membership assembly in Harrisburg this year. She said that it really describes Tiffany, so we’re re-publishing it here below:
What it means to be a vibrant woman
To be bold and to stand up for what she believes in.
To dare to speak the truth and show respect where it’s due.
To be loved and be appreciated for who she is.
To know right from wrong.
To be a teacher and be a achiever.
To be a caretaker and to be a friend.
She’s a fighter, believer, lover and supporter but above all she’s a vibrant woman.