Obituary of Athena Smith Ford

Athena Smith Ford October 23, 2016 Athena Smith Ford, 33, passed away peacefully early Sunday morning, October 23, at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton. Athena died in the arms of her brother, Austin, (Mountain Top, Pennsylvania), with her mother, Diane Smith, (Kingston, Pennsylvania), father Tom Ford and stepmother Maureen Cosgrove (Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania), at her bedside. Athena died of complications from an automobile collision on October 7, 2015, when she was a seat-belted passenger and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Athena never regained consciousness. Over the past year, her family and friends visited Athena virtually daily, and worked together to supplement her therapies, entertain her, complete all her paper work, advocate for her with facilities, research possible therapies, and so much more. Athena received emotional and financial support from hundreds of friends, and strangers touched by her life story, which helped give Athena the best chance at recovery and survival. Athena was not a perfect woman, she could be stubborn, she made mistakes, she didn't clean her room as often as her parents would have preferred. But her entire life was marked by a sincere empathy, care, and concern for others, in fact for all living beings. In the third grade, she wrote a letter to the Mayor, protesting what she believed was the inhumane treatment of animals by the City. She became a vegetarian at 11 or 12. In her 13th year she started a chapter of Amnesty International at her school. She became a local expert on child slavery and prisoners of conscience, educating first fellow-students and then the community at large in talks to local organizations. Eventually, she served on the Regional Planning Board for the Mid-Atlantic Region of Amnesty International. In High School she also started a Yellow Ribbon Club, which was an effort to stop teen suicide. For her 16th Birthday, Athena refused gifts and required her party guests to bring food for a local pantry. She collected over 500 lbs of non-perishables, and insisted that the donation be anonymous (oops, we just let it slip, sorry, Athena). In August 2001, working with a local state representative, she organized a public demonstration bringing to light abuses by the Taliban in Afghanistan -- over a month before 9/11. After college, she was a Community Organizer in Philadelphia for Working America, helping working class families have voices heard. For most of the last eight years she tirelessly worked in the field of health insurance reform, first for the support and passage of ACA with the Philadelphia Unemployment Project, then as the statewide Advocacy Director for the Pennsylvania Health Action Network. Athena then became statewide Advocacy Director for Florida's CHAIN, taking on the same struggle there. Where ever she went, whatever she did, she touched people and did what she could to make their lives better. In working on her assistance applications, her family discovered that, even in her most spare economic situations, she gave at least a little every month, through modest recurring donations, to organizations for which she cared deeply. Athena was born March 30, 1983, in Cleveland, Ohio, was a 2001 graduate of MMI Preparatory School in Freeland, Pennsylvania, and a 2007 graduate of her beloved Kenyon College, in Gambier, Ohio. Additional survivors include her devoted Grandparents, Donald and Nancy Smith, her loving stepfather, Robert "Jake" Jastremski, her beloved Sister in Law, Katie Ford, and her niece, Leona Ford. She was fortunate to have her devoted Aunt Nancy Smith Bayley (Kevin), who provided her a remarkable amount of professional assistance and love throughout her recovery, and her Aunt Mary Hrubowchak (David), who was a constant medical adviser to her family. Athena is also survived by her nutty and loved Uncle Don Smith (Susie), Aunts Karen Ford and Sharon Green (Dean), Uncle Alan Ford, as well as by her much loved hiking companion, her dog, Dillon. Athena will be cremated and her ashes scattered privately by her family in the woods, preserves, and hiking spots she most loved. All are invited to a Celebration of Athena's Life on November 6, beginning at 1 pm, at the Nescopeck Social Hall, 510 Zenith Road, Nescopeck, Pennsylvania 18635. The family will receive well wishers 1 to 3 pm, after which they will join whomever wishes to remain, as long as they wish to remain, in joyfully remembering Athena and celebrating her life. Light food and refreshments will be served. In lieu of flowers, please honor Athena's life by helping a stranger when they need a hand, by loving your neighbors, and by caring for the planet.