Rest in Peace, Lauren Maker

I sent an e-mail to Lauren Maker at 1:25 on Friday, July 27. I’d been working on a writ of mandamus ordering the city to hold a referendum allowing the citizens of Minneapolis to vote on whether to financially support a new Vikings stadium almost nonstop for a week.

I sent it to her knowing she’d give me an honest and expert analysis of its hopes and dreams. After I sent it, I looked through my latest e-mails and found this from Annie Young:

Lauren Maker has officially “crossed the bridge of life” as of 1 p.m., July 27th, 2012. RIP

She suffered a brain aneurysm around 7 p.m. on the evening of July 26th while at a reception/party celebrating the Mississippi River on the most beautiful night of summer we have had, with gorgeous skies and clouds over the city.

Many may want to remember her in that way. If people have pictures of the sky at that time we will want to collect those later as we put together memories for her Celebration of Life service which will be held sometime in September.

A trust fund has been established for Lauren by Cordelia Pierson. Checks should be made to Cordelia Pierson with a subject line of Lauren Maker Fund.
They can be sent to Cordelia, c/o the Mississippi Riverfront Partnership, 2522 Marshall St. N.E., Mpls., MN 55418. The account is setup at Northeast Bank.
Annie Young

I was shocked, stunned. I had lost my best buddie, my co-conspirator, my comrade-in-arms. Lauren was the person I went to when I needed advice on a political strategy, on a legal opinion, on DFL politics or on what was really happening in City Hall. She loved this city, and she loved mixing it up in the bare-knuckled politics of the Northside DFL. She wasn’t afraid to stand up to the Machine. She never ran from a fight. And she didn’t mind losing if she could go down swinging. She was the first to sign on with my More Democracy Campaign to try to limit the mayor and City Council to two-year terms. She recruited new members, gave me advice and gathered signatures in that Quixotic venture. She had told everyone in our group that we needed to have a post-mortem, a final meeting and party at her house to do a final evaluation and decide where to go from there. You owe us that meeting Lauren. And we owe you a new dedication to speak truth to power and never give up!

Ed Felien

Friends of Lauren wrote the following:

Lauren (Kay) Maker, age 59, passed away on July 27th, 2012, after a brain aneurysm on the evening of July 26th while attending the Riverfront Vitality Summit & Celebration. She was surrounded by friends and family at the time of her passing.

She was a champion for social justice. She was compassionate and always wanted to make sure everyone was included. She loved to cook and feed people along with hosting parties and events for the many organizations and people she was involved with at the time. She had a passion for women’s rights and was a pro-choice activist. She lobbied at the Minnesota Legislature during the ERA campaign and worked tirelessly on the St. Paul Human Rights Campaign. She was a founding member of the DFL Feminist Caucus and a brain trust and wealth of information about the political machine and its place in the City of Minneapolis.

For many years she was a practicing lawyer and later went on to fill various employment roles in the City of Minneapolis. She loved music and sang in several choral groups over the years. She is survived by her siblings, Julie Blade and Ross Maker, and has a large extended family in the community she served. She left us too soon and will be missed by everyone who knew her.