This article was submitted by the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico. Louise Trask died in July 2021.
It wasn’t difficult to find a way to honor Louise Trask’s legacy. The seed of inspiration was planted when Louise’s eldest daughter, Melissa Henry, was just five years old. One day Louise took her two little daughters to church. When her pastor asked for her prayer request, Melissa raised her little hand and said, “Pray that her father stop beating her mother.”
Fortunately, Melissa’s prayers were answered. Her church community rallied around Louise for assistance and provided her with a transport truck to pack her belongings and gas bills. She ended up in Las Cruces and became a well-known face in the community. After working for several years in sales for the manufactured housing industry, Louise was hired as a mortgage officer at the local credit union. While there, she made it her mission to help others realize her dream of buying a forever home.”She was like a mom to everyone,” says Melissa. I was. “She helped people restore their credit, offering advice like ‘You don’t have to eat a restaurant burrito for lunch every day’ to encourage people to think about saving for their new home.”
High demands and commitments at home prevented Louise from finishing high school, but education always remained important to her. I shared my knowledge and provided high school students with information on financial literacy. Louise used her experience from her past to talk about domestic violence in a middle school home economics class, including types of abuse and signs to look out for.
Louise used the church’s investment to create a new life filled with hope, love, and service to her community. Her daughter Melissa and her husband, Dr. Kevin E. Henry, now a founder and pastor of a church in Pantego, Texas, come full circle with Louise’s story with the family of the Church of the Word of Truth International Ministries. selected. Louise Trask Memorial Foundation Fund. The Fund, housed in the Southern New Mexico Community Foundation, was established to help other Southern New Mexico women in domestic violence situations find new beginnings. Proceeds from will help pay for a new home down payment, apartment rent and security deposit, and education-related expenses such as tuition and GED application fees.
When I asked Melissa why it was important to establish this fund, she said: That’s my mother’s legacy — she wanted the best for everyone and had a heart that cared about others.
Louise’s family has also found creative ways for those who knew Louise to support donations established in her memory. donated to the fund. After Louise passed away, Melissa rediscovered her children’s book she wrote in seventh grade that her mother had helped her create. The book Where’s Sarah? is published and dedicated to Louise, the proceeds from her sale also support the donation.
For more information about the Louise Trask Memorial Foundation Fund of the Southern New Mexico Community Foundation, please visit https://bit.ly/3bS39Aq.