In Memoriam
by Cindee Moyer, NIADA President
Of great personal loss to her family, and to our NIADA family, is Luella Mossom, who passed peacefully at home on October 18th.
Luella lived in Johannesburg, South Africa, and came to NIADA searching for like-minded friends in the doll world. We soon became an important part of her world. If you’ve ever looked through her Facebook page, you’d find wonderful photos of wildlife, unusual and fascinating plant life, and incredible artwork that she would find and share with us. She had an eye for beauty in whatever realm. Her work was reflective of that. Hauntingly beautiful, with a Thespian theme, each figure expressive in posture as well as character and her costuming a nod to the historical theater.
Luella loved NIADA. She donated dolls to each of our fundraisers because that was something she could do to feel an active part. She provided 20 one-of-a-kind souvenirs for one of our conferences. She participated in the monthly Zoom calls hosted by Christine Shively Benjamin and even created a course for the NIADA Academy this past year. And she wrote to me every single month expressing her gratitude for this newsletter because, knowing that she was physically unable to travel anymore, it made her feel connected.
Several years ago, I worked with Luella to provide some dark-skinned baby dolls to an orphanage in Zimbabwe. These young girls had lost their families due to war and had been sexually abused by rebels. With only one doll available, they took turns taking it to bed at night. Dolls were a proven source of comfort and there were no resources for them. Several groups began providing dolls and ultimately large corporations began funding this project.
In July of this year, she contacted me and said, “The Sandra Jones Center in Zimbabwe is flourishing, and we were part of the snowball effect that made that happen. No act is too small.” Then she said, “There are young girls in Ukraine who are suffering this same trauma.” and believed they would benefit from a similar outreach. She knew the value of dolls to provide comfort.
We have lost a gentle spirit, a very talented artist, and a wonderful friend.
Dear Artists, Patrons, Associates, and friends,
I have been asked about places to donate in memory of Luella, her daughter Nici sent me two organizations that were special to her.
The first is:
Bambelela Wildlife Care
https://www.bambelela.org.za
Nici shared that she was involved for many years in primate rescue, specifically Vervet Monkeys (she had a troop that visited her daily for food or help for about 20 years). Luella did this drawing for Bambelela about a month ago.
ABOUT BAMBELELA
The Bambelela Wildlife Care and Vervet Monkey Rehabilitation Facility is located 20km out of Bela Bela in Limpopo, South Africa. Silke von Eynern, the founder and major benefactor of the facility, originally immigrated to South Africa from Germany in 1990, with her late husband. After his death in 1997 she decided to dedicate her life and savings towards the care and conservation of South African Wildlife and so Bambelela (which means “to hold on” in Zulu) came into being in December 2003.
The second one is:
Hartbeespoort Animal Welfare Society
https://www.haw-s.co.za
HAWS is a registered non-profit organization that provides welfare services for abandoned, neglected, and abused pets as well as farm and wild animals. HAWS also has a sterilization clinic for the animals of less privileged members of our community. We welcome volunteers to assist us in all aspects of sustaining the existence of the shelter, be it hands-on at the kennels or with HAWS fundraisers.
Nici asked me to express their thanks, and that her Mom would be so delighted.
Thank you.
Cindee
