Priscilla Ames with Embry Rucker in an early ‘90s photo. Photo contributed
Priscilla Ames was an advocate for the less-fortunate and a voice for progressive social justice.
“She was an icon to people who grew up here in the 1970s and 1980s,” said Winslow Wacker, of Reston.
Ames died Jan. 8.
Wacker helped organize a gathering to celebrate her life and legacy at the Reston Museum on Lake Anne Plaza on Sunday, Jan. 10.
Del. Ken Plum, Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, and Sen. Janet Howell were three of many who shared stories this past weekend.
“She’s the quiet force that has kept this community together,” state Sen. Janet Howell (D-32) said at Ames’ 70th birthday in 2004.
Ames, along with other Reston volunteers such as the late Rev. Embry Rucker, was instrumental in bringing a homeless shelter to Reston in the 1980s.
She was also one of the original volunteers working for Reston-Herndon FISH (Friendly, Instant, Sympathetic Help), an organization that runs the Bargain Loft in Herndon and aids low-income families with emergency financial assistance.
Ames was known for her extensive volunteer work with Reston Interfaith. She helped organize coat drives, food collections and anything else to help those in need.
Wacker called her “a community builder who deeply loved Reston and all that it could be and a community advocate who dedicated herself to helping those in need.”
“She was the driving force behind the RHOA, before it was Reston Association. She made it central, it was where everyone went to find out what was happening,” said Wacker.
Wacker remembers when she was a teenager and Ames gave her a Reston telephone book and told her to call everyone to remind them to vote.
“If you think of Reston as a pyramid, with Bob Simon on the top tier, Embry Rucker next, she would be third,” she said.
“We’re fortunate to have so many great people and leaders here in Reston,” Plum said about Ames in 2004.
Plum said we were truly blessed to have had Priscilla Ames among us.
Donations to honor Priscilla's legacy may be made to the Reston Museum.