Melanie Washington, who selflessly worked to become a mentor and inspiration to inmates and juvenile facilities despite the tragedy in her life, has died. She was 69 years old.

Washington died peacefully in her sleep on Nov. 23, apparently of a heart attack, at her home in Henderson, Nev., where she had moved from Long Beach, according to her son, Mason, who lives just minutes away.

“My mother followed our Lord. She prayed for everyone, helping others in her extraordinary life,” her son said. “She built her life around family, community and service. »

He said a public vigil will be held for his mother from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Forest Lawn in Covina, 21300 Via Verde St. A celebration of life, by invitation only, will be held Thursday at Forest Lawn. The celebration of life ceremony will be available live on https://forestlawn.livecontrol.tv/370b9b8d.

“Melanie was a special woman,” said Don Knabe, former longtime Los Angeles County supervisor.

“She took forgiveness to another level. She left her mark and truly made a difference. She will be missed by many. »

Naomi Rainey-Pierson, president of the local NAACP chapter, said, “Melanie Washington didn’t just talk. She put her words into action.

Janey Roeder, director of the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership at Cal State Long Beach, said Washington spoke with students in an ethics class at the university two months ago. “She spoke about compassion and forgiveness, bringing some students to tears,” Roeder said.

“He was an exceptional person.”

By all accounts, Washington should have been an angry and bitter woman. She has experienced more than her share of violence.

She was raped when she was little. Her mother, sister and husband were all murdered.

In 1995, Damon, one of his three sons, was shot and killed by a gang member his son had befriended and tried to mentor.

When she looked into the backgrounds of the offenders who had murdered her family members, she discovered that they had spent time in California’s juvenile justice system.

And then she did what some thought was unthinkable. She went to the prison where her son’s killer was. Not only did she meet him, but she also became friends with him.

“I can’t hate you,” she told him. “Dee loved you, and so I must love you too.”

Inspired by this and other events, in 1999 Washington founded Mentoring – A Touch From Above (MATFA), a nonprofit organization founded on the principles of forgiveness and healing.

“My mother’s work touched countless lives, encouraging, mentoring and supporting young people and incarcerated people, offering them hope and guidance,” her son said.

In 2012, during a visit to Los Padrinos, a juvenile detention center in Los Angeles County, Washington introduced herself and began talking to young men.

“You have no place in this place. You can do better in your life,” she told them. “If you don’t make it, your next trip will be to the penitentiary. »

She said young men need to learn to forgive themselves and others.

“Get rid of your anger and bitterness,” she says. “Forgive your parents. Forgive your enemies. I had to forgive the boy who killed my boy and shot him in the face. I asked him why he shot my boy, and he told me he was tired of my son telling him to go to school. I will never get over the loss of my son, but I had to forgive him. I’m doing this for my son. God allows me to do this.

As he left the facility, Washington said, “A lot of people say there’s no hope for young people these days. I want to prove them wrong. »

She had a mantra tattooed on her arm: “Forgive the unforgivable.”

Melanie Lynn Washington was born June 28, 1955, one of nine children of George Robert Washington and Patsy Ruth Clark in Los Angeles.

She attended Los Angeles City College majoring in business management. She balanced her philanthropic work with a successful career in aerospace, retiring from the Boeing Company as a senior logistics analyst. She was ordained as a minister in 2001.

His list of awards and honors is exhaustive. She received the prestigious Presidential Points of Light Community Service Award from President George W. Bush in 2002. She was honored as Woman of the Year in 2003 by Rick Rackers, junior auxiliary of the Assistance League of Long Beach . She also received the Los Angeles County Supervisor’s Award as Woman of the Year from the Commission on Women in 2003 and won the Boeing Volunteer of the Year Award in 1999. She is a graduate of the Leadership Long Beach Class of 2004.