You were such a wonderful person JoAnn and I hope that you know I love you and Miss you so much! Till we meet again!
This is and Article Published by the Herald Journal today.
Local volunteer Autry dead at 67
By Emilie H. Wheeler
Published:
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 2:48 AM CST
JoAnn Autry, a well-known local community volunteer whose daughter was murdered nearly a decade ago, has died after battling cancer for several years.Autry, 67, was called “dignified,” “forgiving” and “courageous” by those who knew her. Funeral services for Autry will take place Saturday.Despite her daughter’s murder and losing her husband, Leroy, to cancer in 2001, she was optimistic and caring for all, said Cache County Deputy Attorney Don Linton.“Every time I’ve seen her she always just gives you a big hug and asks how you were doing,” he said.
Linton was one of several Cache County attorneys who helped in the prosecution against Cody Lynn Nielsen, who in January 2004 was convicted of several charges, including capital aggravated murder of Trisha Autry, a 15-year-old Hyrum teen who went missing in June 2000. Her remains were discovered nearly a year later.JoAnn Autry was involved with social work before her daughter’s death, and afterward she worked with law enforcement agencies and local nonprofits to help others in need.Between January and December 2006, Autry worked as the Child & Family Support Center as its first development coordinator. Her responsibilities included raising community awareness about the center and planning fundraisers.“She’s nothing short of amazing,” said Esterlee Molyneux, the center’s executive director. “She’s just absolutely a miracle worker.”Molyneux said Autry started the Circle of Friends group, which implements fundraisers. That committee is still going strong, she said.Autry resigned in December 2006 amidst health concerns, but Molyneux said she never really stopped working.“Even three weeks ago, she carried a big armful of donations in — her legacy lives on here,” she said.Autry is survived by her four living children; Trisha was her youngest. Autry often spoke of her LDS faith sustaining her through her trials.“It’s not like I don’t have my times, but we are not destroyed by our grief because we have that eternal hope,” she said in 2002.In the years after Trisha’s disappearance and murder, JoAnn Autry and other family members learned more about missing and exploited children and counseled other victims. A year after Trisha’s disappearance, the family organized the Trisha Autry Foundation, a nonprofit with the mission to raise awareness and provide education to parents, children, church, school, state and local leaders about missing and abducted children. Volunteers with the foundation distributed thousands of DNA identification kits at activities throughout Cache Valley.In the years that led up to Nielsen’s murder trial and even after, Autry kept in close contact with several Cache County attorneys. Tony Baird, who served as second chair to then-County Attorney Scott Wyatt, said he was continually amazed at Autry’s optimism.“She never allowed that experience to poison her attitude toward life,” he said. “She was just incredibly positive and incredibly compassionate. She was just a dang good woman.”James Swink, the current county attorney, met Autry years before Trisha was murdered. In the early 1990s, Autry worked at Utah State University in the school’s substance abuse office.Swink said Autry was “fantastic” in her work at USU and worked to make a difference in the community over the years he knew her.“She was the most dignified, kind and forgiving person I’ve ever met,” he said. “She just exuded so much love for other people.”Linton remembers waiting for the jury to come back with a sentencing decision after the prosecution had argued for the death penalty. Autry, however, told the attorneys she wasn’t sure she wanted that.Autry later told The Herald Journal she’d realized it was important to forgive Nielsen.“Cody Nielsen is a child of God as well and we have to remember that and let God work in his life as well,” she said in 2004.
Published:
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 2:48 AM CST
JoAnn Autry, a well-known local community volunteer whose daughter was murdered nearly a decade ago, has died after battling cancer for several years.Autry, 67, was called “dignified,” “forgiving” and “courageous” by those who knew her. Funeral services for Autry will take place Saturday.Despite her daughter’s murder and losing her husband, Leroy, to cancer in 2001, she was optimistic and caring for all, said Cache County Deputy Attorney Don Linton.“Every time I’ve seen her she always just gives you a big hug and asks how you were doing,” he said.
Linton was one of several Cache County attorneys who helped in the prosecution against Cody Lynn Nielsen, who in January 2004 was convicted of several charges, including capital aggravated murder of Trisha Autry, a 15-year-old Hyrum teen who went missing in June 2000. Her remains were discovered nearly a year later.JoAnn Autry was involved with social work before her daughter’s death, and afterward she worked with law enforcement agencies and local nonprofits to help others in need.Between January and December 2006, Autry worked as the Child & Family Support Center as its first development coordinator. Her responsibilities included raising community awareness about the center and planning fundraisers.“She’s nothing short of amazing,” said Esterlee Molyneux, the center’s executive director. “She’s just absolutely a miracle worker.”Molyneux said Autry started the Circle of Friends group, which implements fundraisers. That committee is still going strong, she said.Autry resigned in December 2006 amidst health concerns, but Molyneux said she never really stopped working.“Even three weeks ago, she carried a big armful of donations in — her legacy lives on here,” she said.Autry is survived by her four living children; Trisha was her youngest. Autry often spoke of her LDS faith sustaining her through her trials.“It’s not like I don’t have my times, but we are not destroyed by our grief because we have that eternal hope,” she said in 2002.In the years after Trisha’s disappearance and murder, JoAnn Autry and other family members learned more about missing and exploited children and counseled other victims. A year after Trisha’s disappearance, the family organized the Trisha Autry Foundation, a nonprofit with the mission to raise awareness and provide education to parents, children, church, school, state and local leaders about missing and abducted children. Volunteers with the foundation distributed thousands of DNA identification kits at activities throughout Cache Valley.In the years that led up to Nielsen’s murder trial and even after, Autry kept in close contact with several Cache County attorneys. Tony Baird, who served as second chair to then-County Attorney Scott Wyatt, said he was continually amazed at Autry’s optimism.“She never allowed that experience to poison her attitude toward life,” he said. “She was just incredibly positive and incredibly compassionate. She was just a dang good woman.”James Swink, the current county attorney, met Autry years before Trisha was murdered. In the early 1990s, Autry worked at Utah State University in the school’s substance abuse office.Swink said Autry was “fantastic” in her work at USU and worked to make a difference in the community over the years he knew her.“She was the most dignified, kind and forgiving person I’ve ever met,” he said. “She just exuded so much love for other people.”Linton remembers waiting for the jury to come back with a sentencing decision after the prosecution had argued for the death penalty. Autry, however, told the attorneys she wasn’t sure she wanted that.Autry later told The Herald Journal she’d realized it was important to forgive Nielsen.“Cody Nielsen is a child of God as well and we have to remember that and let God work in his life as well,” she said in 2004.
2 comments:
Thank you for posting this Amy. :) Joanne was an excellent woman and an example of what we can all try harder to be.
She was a great person! I'm so sad that she is gone, but she is in a better place now. She was an amazing person and will be missed.
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