Champions of the Family
Joann Gorham with her Husband Larry and son Josh
Joann Gorham
By Sharon Slater,
President of United Families International
On behalf of all of us at United Families International, I would like to express our profound sadness at the passing November 30th of Joann Gorham, president of United Families Canada and a member of UFI 's advisory board, and convey our deepest sympathies to her family.
I first met Joann at a United Nations conference in New York, where I was impressed by her skills as an attorney and her passion for defending the family. She has been a valiant defender of women, children and the family and spearheaded efforts in Canada to defend marriage and family.
Through her leadership and tireless efforts, UFI 's Defend Marriage Canada project quickly grew to 20,000 supporters.
Joann sacrificed greatly to preserve and protect the family and insisted, even while she was fighting ovarian cancer, in doing all she could do to preserve marriage in Canada.
Personally, Joann was a great inspiration to me from the beginning of my involvement with UFI. I relied on her as a confidant, counselor and friend. I count Joann as truly one of the best women I have known and I am certain that yet another great mission has just begun.
With that said, I would also like to announce that in honor of Joann, United Families International has established the Joann Gorham Defender of the Family Award, which will be granted annually to an individual who has shown outstanding achievement in their work to defend the family as the fundamental unit of society.
Joann had a vision. She envisioned values communities being established throughout Canada and throughout the world where everyone in a community worked together to strengthen the family and promote family values. She envisioned centers in every town and city dedicated to the family, with an office that would measure the effect that every new project, program or policy would have on the family; a center of education where policy makers and citizens could learn the importance of preserving family values. It is our hope that this new award will recognize individuals who share Joann's commitment to securing a future for the family.
I will miss Joann greatly and honor her for everything she taught me and for her example.
JoAnn is survived by her husband Larry and their son Josh. Prior to her volunteer work with UFI, Joann was the director of Youth Making a Difference (YMAD), a Winnipeg, Manitoba group that focuses on issues of concern to youth primarily as they relate to the family. As director of YMAD, Joann has participated at several international events, including Beijing +5, Children's Summit meetings, the World Congress of Families II and the World Family Policy Forum. She served as co-chair of the World Congress of Families Millennium Youth Assembly, held in Lethbridge, Alberta. Joann graduated from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University and was formerly a member of the Alberta Law Society and the Utah Bar. Joann was born in Cardston, Alberta, to Keith and Janet Russell.
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