Marching in Memory of Laura Winterbottom

By Margaret Michniewicz

On a starless, frigid night in early March
Laura left me abruptly.
With neither desire nor intention to.
A choice not hers to make.

My child-woman of infinite curiosity
For all things seen and unseen.
Who embraced life with exhilaration.
And always with grace.

My lovely child who left me much too soon.
My precious child for whom my arms now ache.
My child of sun and snow and wind and rain.
My child of the universe.

Excerpts from a poem by JoAnn Winterbottom, whose 31-year old daughter Laura was viciously raped and murdered in Burlington, Vermont on March 8, 2005.

That bitter night was a world away from the warm, sunny morning of September 8 as Laura's family and friends were joined by nearly 200 other members of the community to march in loving memory of the young Burlington woman. It was the first of what is to be an annual benefit event for the Laura K. Winterbottom Fund (LWF), which was established shortly after Laura's death by her parents, Ned and JoAnn of Bedford, New York, her younger brother Aran, and her older sister Leigh, who lives in Burlington.

"The reason why we picked September [for the event] was because it's Laura's birth month," JoAnn explains. The annual 5K walk/run - "Laura's March: A Walk to End Violence Against Women" - is one of a number of planned events and activities that will, according to JoAnn, assist not only agencies and programs for women and children affected by domestic and sexual violence, but also agencies and programs that offer art education to children and advocate for animal welfare. "Our support of organizations like the Women's Rape Crisis Center addresses what happened to Laura while our support of art education and animal welfare programs addresses who Laura was and what she cared about," JoAnn says.

JoAnn reports that about $12,000 was raised in this year's march: "…a substantial sum but hardly approximating the $150,000 the media reported that we had raised," she said. As described on its Web site, "the money [raised] is going toward two exceptionally worthwhile projects. One is Women Helping Battered Women (WHBW)'s 8-week program designed to teach elementary school children affected by domestic violence how to deal with their emotions and develop appropriate coping skills. The LKW Fund will purchase kits to be used as teaching tools for as many schools as identified as needing them. Similarly, we are sponsoring a weekend-long healing retreat offered by the Women's Rape Crisis Center (WRCC) for victims of sexual violence."

At the time of her death, Laura was teaching art to children in an after-school program and was planning to become a full-time art teacher. "Laura liked being with children," explains her mother. "She loved doing art projects. It was inevitable that she would bring these two together by teaching art to children. In many ways, Laura was childlike, so she could easily relate to children. As a child often does, she would get down on the floor to paint, or quilt," JoAnn says. "She had a wondrous imagination."

In what can only be an indescribably long and painful two and a half years since Laura's murder, JoAnn has spent a considerable amount of time in Burlington, which she acknowledges has caused people to wonder if it's not difficult for her, given the tragic circumstances.

"People have asked me that, 'how could you go back there?' But: this is a wonderful community. [It was] one single man - an evil person - someone intent on doing something… terrible, who did this to Laura," JoAnn says. "Laura always wanted us to move here… She was very, very close to her family." She pauses, her voice catching. "Laura found what she was looking for here in Vermont, and in Burlington specifically, so I feel as if in some ways I'm honoring that.

"I am amazed and just very, very deeply touched by the kind of response we're getting by this community. It has been extraordinary."

She noted the eloquence of Burlington Police Chief Tom Tremblay's welcoming remarks at Laura's March, in which he stated that there must be a "zero-tolerance" attitude toward violence against women.

JoAnn is effusive in her praise for the victims' advocates and others in the justice system who she and her family encountered during the ordeal of Laura's murder, through the sentencing this July of her killer. Of Gerald Montgomery's conviction, however, she says, "I'm not sure exactly what justice would be in this situation. Having him imprisoned for the rest of his natural life, hopefully, is satisfying. But, it doesn't bring Laura back. So it's a Pyrrhic victory. We've won, we've got him behind bars - he even admitted to his guilt - but - look at what we've lost. [It's] never going to be [enough].

"I think that the reasons for these crimes are varied… For many men it can be a sense of entitlement or power; and I do believe there is such a thing as a criminal mind," JoAnn says, adding that "as parents we [need] to teach our sons, our male children to be more respectful toward women - especially [to] not feel they're entitled."

As she talked about Laura's plans to pursue teaching art to children, JoAnn says of the daughter she has lost, "Although she observed things as through the eyes of a child, the profundity and wisdom of her insights and reflections always impressed and awed me. I loved hearing Laura's observations and musings about things. I miss that so much."

To learn more about Laura (including some of her artwork, as well as some poignant poems written about her by family and friends) and the LKW Fund visit www.lkwfund.org.

Margaret Michniewicz is editor of Vermont Woman newspaper.