Mary Ridgway, probation officer was 66

Celeste Fremon writes at Witness LA that Ridgway, a supervising deputy probation officer for Los Angeles County, "changed—and in many cases, saved—more lives than anyone can adequately count." Ridgway died last Saturday of liver cancer. Fremon:

I first met Mary in early 1991 and, eighteen years later, I still consider her to be one of the most remarkable people I have ever known.

My assessment of her is shared by hundreds of others---from law enforcement types to guys locked up in prison. Mary Ridgway is truly irreplaceable. Her death has blown a great many people out on the trail, myself included.

Fremon, who says she'll write more next week, gives the specifics on services. Ridgway plays a part in Fremon's book, G-Dog and the Homeboys, about Father Gregory Boyle and the gangs of East Los Angeles.