Ellen Louise Pence

Died January 6, 2012, in her home, surrounded by family and close friends. An activist in the housing, anti-war, civil rights and feminist movements, Ellen eventually dedicated her life to ending violence against women, and she enlisted, led, and supported many others in this struggle. In 1975, she became active in the battered women's movement. She moved to Duluth, MN, in 1980, where she and a small group of activists organized the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project, commonly referred to as the "Duluth Model." The model, which has been adapted for use throughout the world, employs an interagency approach to shift responsibility for confronting domestic violence from the victims of the violence to the community, based on the idea that women (and their children) have as much right to be safe at home as all people have to be safe on the street. Ellen subsequently worked with a team of experts to redesign the U.S. Marine Corps' response to family violence. She also worked with professionals in the St. Paul criminal justice system to develop a "Blueprint for Safety" for battered women. She was the founder and director of Praxis International, a non-profit dedicated to helping institutions meet the needs of the people they serve. Her unfinished projects include the response of family court in cases of battering and racial disparity in the child welfare system. Ellen integrated grassroots community advocacy and academic research. She earned her B.A. from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth and a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. She published extensively on institutional responses to the issue of violence against women and designed the Praxis Safety and Accountability Audit, an ethnological process used to assess the response of community agencies to violence against women and to child abuse. Ellen was preceded in death by her father, Robert Pence; sister, Diane VanValkenburg; and nephew, Jake VanValkenburg. She is survived by her mother, Audrie Anne Marshall Pence of Shoreview, MN; partner, Amanda McCormick, and son, Liam McCormick of St. Paul, MN; godson, Forrest Funmaker of Merrilan, WI; sisters, Carole (Don) Miller of Fridley and Fran (Rick) Myran of Stillwater; brother, David (Candice) Pence of Mankato; and many loving nieces and nephews. Memorial Service at Rauenhorst Ballroom, Coeur De Catherine, St. Catherine University, 2004 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN 2:30-6:00, Jan 14, 2012. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women (Ellen Pence Memorial Fund), 60 East Plato Blvd., Suite 130, St. Paul, MN, 55107. The fund will provide cash assistance to women who experience violence.