Scott Swanson
A former Sweet Home resident and her husband were among the victims of a shooting rampage that killed six people and wounded 13 others Saturday outside a Tucson, Ariz., supermarket.
Mavnell “Mavy” Terry Stoddard, 75, was hit three times in the leg, according to friends in Sweet Home. Her husband, Dorwin Stoddard, 76, was among the six killed.
Authorities believe the motive of the suspected shooter, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, was to assassinate U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head as she greeted constituents. Giffords remained hospitalized in intensive care at University Medical Center in Tucson earlier this week.
U.S. District Judge John M. Roll, 63, who reportedly had attended Mass a short time before and had stopped by to greet the congresswoman, was also killed. The victims also included Christina Taylor Green, 9, daughter of Los Angeles Dodgers scout John Green and granddaughter of Dallas Green, who managed the Philadelphia Phillies to the 1980 World Series championship. Christina, who had just been elected to her elementary school student council, was in line to meet Giffords because she was interested in government, according to news reports.
Loughner faces federal murder and attempted murder charges.
Friends Myrna Cairnes and Rosemary Whitmore of Holley said Mavy Stoddard, then married to Virgil Terry, lived on Upper Calapooia Drive for more than 30 years after moving from Arizona in the early 1960s.
“My father was in real estate and he sold them their place on Upper Calapooia,” Whitmore said. “I met her then. I’ve been friends with her since I was 18.”
She said she was planning to leave Wednesday, Jan. 12, to stay with Stoddard for a week after getting a call Saturday about the shooting, after it occurred.
Cairnes said Stoddard was to be released from the hospital on Monday, Jan. 10. Whitmore said Stoddard’s four children, including two daughters who live in Eugene and Jefferson, were scheduled to fly down to Arizona Monday.
Stoddard moved back to Arizona, after Virgil Terry died 14 years ago, and met Dorwin Stoddard, who were classmates in Tucson, after she returned, Cairnes and Whitmore said.
“They had known each other since sixth grade,” Cairnes said, adding that Stoddard’s first wife had died and they reconnected.
According to news reports, the Stoddards were in the crowd to see Giffords because Mavy Stoddard wanted to tell their congresswoman she was doing a good job.
“They were about seven back in line, waiting to see their representative. Dory took a shot in the head.”
Cairnes said Dorwin Stoddard was shot in the back of the head after he threw himself over his wife to protect her.
Both Whitmore and Cairnes said the Stoddards have been to Sweet Home in recent years to visit.
“They came up here with their motorhome and stayed here with us,” Cairnes said.
She also said she got a call about the shootings Saturday.
“I was shocked,” Cairnes said.