On the morning of Saturday, February 15, I will join friends and family of Mary Munson Runge, who will gather at 11:00 am for a memorial service at the First United Methodist Church at 850 16th Street, Modesto, CA. I’ve been in touch with several friends who also plan to attend.

I wanted to follow up on my January 10 blog post with a link to the Modesto Bee obituary for her. The family has suggested that, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. Cards or notes may be sent to Mary’s husband, Al, or their daughter, Claudia, directly to Claudia Schrumpf, 3054 Castle Rock Court, Ceres, CA 95307.

Mary was a great advocate for patients who were low-income and had limited access to health care. She spent a lifetime caring for the disadvantaged, her friend and mentee LB Brown, our 2014–2015 President-elect, recently told student pharmacist and APhA Experiential Program Extern Mohamed Jalloh in an interview.

Brown added, “Being the first black and female APhA President was challenging, but she had that spirit and that tenacity and she was not hearing it. She didn’t care that she was the first black or she was a woman or she was of short stature. She would be like, ‘Hey, listen up. This is what I have to say.’ She was a force to be reckoned with.”

If any of you have things you would like shared with Mary’s family, please comment here and I will carry those thoughts to the service.