Posts about Madalene Daniell began appearing on social media Wednesday night. Her family had shared some heartbreaking news with the network of friends she had gathered over the years: Daniell was in intensive care, fighting for her life .
Early Friday, these same friends learned Daniell had died.
“She is a staple in Hattiesburg, and has been for so long,” said Rosie Knop, one of hundreds of mothers who have attended Daniell’s Fitness for Two classes since Daniell started them more than 40 years ago.
“Mommie and Me classes give mothers and children the opportunity to interact and exercise together using music, movement, story and rhyme,” Daniell said in describing the Fitness for Two program, which had classes ranging from pregnancy through a child’s third year.
But Daniell was more than an instructor to many of the women she taught. They eventually became friends with her and the numerous women who attended her classes.
“Friendships were bonded and sealed in that room (where classes were taught),” Knop said. “A room where every mother was allowed to feel safe and loved on. Every one of us was forged together and molded into moms through the strength of Madalene Daniell and her love for others.
“She gave me the strength and courage to get through some of the toughest postpartum issues, encouraging me to continue to ask questions until I got answers. She held me as I broke down in tears when I found out about the extent of my mom’s dementia. She checked in on me as a business owner when I opened my shop and encouraged moms to come see me. She is a giant in the hearts of so many moms.”
Since 1978, Daniell had led Forrest General Hospital’s Spirit of Women Fitness for Two Mommie and Me classes.
Daniell, who also worked with her family business, Daniell Motors, graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s of fine art degree and master’s degrees in art.
She had planned to work at William Carey University as an educator, but found herself facing the unfamiliar challenges of motherhood, Forrest General Hospital said Friday in a news release. It was then her teaching took a different turn.
“While teaching one day, this still small voice that can only come from the Lord said, ‘What do women do when they don’t know what to do?’” Daniell said in a 2018 FGH story.
Since then, Daniell has helped hundreds of women and families across the Pine Belt learn what to do.
Forrest General Hospital staff were saddened to learn of Daniell’s death, according to the news release. And Forrest Health Vice President Millie Swan said she understands the impact Daniell made in the Hattiesburg community.
“I am so deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Madalene Daniell,” Swan said. “Words cannot truly express what Madalene meant to our Women and Children’s Services. I found an email dating back to January 2018 where Madalene was thanking us for celebrating her 40 years of teaching Fitness for Two classes.
“For the past 44 years, she touched so many lives,” Swan said. “I can see her vivacious smile and hear her laughing now as I said to her many times, ‘I want to clone you. What would we do without you teaching these programs?’ She had such a gift that gave way beyond what she even realized. Madalene, thank you for sharing your gift with us. You were loved by so many and will never be forgotten.”
Hulett-Winstead Funeral Home is handling arrangements, which at this time are incomplete.
Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.
from WordPress https://ift.tt/2VIxuKc
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment