Dec. 10 — Nadine Milford launched a long crusade for reform after her daughter and three grandchildren were killed in a car crash on Interstate 40 west of Albuquerque on Christmas Eve 1992 .

After arriving at the scene that freezing night, Lance Milford, Nadine’s son, told the Journal, he and his mother embraced as they tried to understand what had happened.

“The first words out of his mouth were, ‘We have to forgive,’” he said. “I told her, ‘I don’t want to, Mom.’ She kept saying it: ‘We must forgive.'”

On Dec. 1, Vera “Nadine” Milford, 86, died of health complications, three decades after losing her daughter Melanie Cravens — whom she called her “sidekick” — and Cravens’ daughters Kandyce, 9 years old, Erin, 8, and Kacee. Woodard, 5.

The drunk driver who drove the wrong way on I-40 and crashed into their vehicle, Gordon House, was convicted of vehicular homicide and sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Nadine Milford worked for years with Mothers Against Drunk Driving in New Mexico, pushing initiatives in the state Legislature to try to reduce drunk driving.

Lance Milford said his mother served as president of MADD New Mexico from 1996 to 2006. MADD New Mexico Executive Director Katrina Latka-Parkman called Milford a longtime volunteer “who played a major role in our organization.”

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller called Nadine Milford “a New Mexican hero who turned her unimaginable personal tragedy into a powerful movement that saved countless lives across our state.” loss she suffered, and we will continue the fight in her memory.”

After the accident, Nadine Milford dedicated her life to ensuring that others would not experience what she experienced.

“I thought, you know, I had lost everything,” she said in a 2020 interview. “What did I have to lose? I had nothing to lose, and it was about time that this State realizes that people were dying on the highway and that it was a preventable situation.

“It wasn’t necessary, and I decided deep in my heart that it wasn’t going to happen, or at least it was going to slow down. My daughters didn’t die in vain, no.”

One person Nadine Milford befriended over the years was former MADD National President Karolyn Nunnallee, whose 10-year-old daughter, Patty, was killed in a drunk driving accident. drunk in Kentucky on May 14, 1988.

“I have never seen a woman work so hard to, number one, help victims; number two, help pass legislation that saves lives in the state of New Mexico and, essentially, across the country,” Nunnallee said in a telephone interview. .

Nadine Milford has championed DWI initiatives such as installing ignition interlock devices in vehicles driven by convicted drunk drivers in the state. In a 2002 article about an interlock bill, the Journal reported that several lawmakers credited Milford “for persisting in pushing for tougher DWI laws.”

“Nadine’s motto was ‘Persistence wears down resistance,'” said Nadine Milford’s friend Terry Huertaz. “She lived that motto every day and it really showed in her advocacy.”

Nadine Milford has been recognized locally and nationally for her work. In 2008, she received a public service award at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Lifesavers Conference.

“The whole time she was doing this, she wasn’t paid a dime for her time,” Lance said. “Not a dime. She did this with all her heart because she really cared about people and she really wanted to solve this problem and make people’s lives better.”

In June 2002, Tom Udall – then the 3rd District Congressman – gave a speech in the U.S. House of Representatives in honor of Nadine Milford, saying that she “had brought comfort to countless families who have been affected by a fatality while driving while intoxicated.

Udall added: “She could have fallen into the depression that engulfed her. Instead, she relied on her deep faith and the love of her family and transformed herself seemingly overnight into the new face of CFA reform could never have imagined that she would one day be asked to lead such a worthy fight. Ultimately, I can’t think of anyone better to have her. do.

Relatives said Nadine Milford had an ability to forgive stemming from her unwavering faith.

House, the drunk driver convicted of killing Milford’s family, was released from prison in 2009 after serving less than 11 years. Lance Milford said he remembers the moment his family spoke at House’s parole hearing.

“It was all about forgiveness and grace and allowing him to be released and be with his family,” he said. “It’s been a big part of the healing process for us and for him.”