PADUCAH, KY (WSIL) -- An advocate for victims of domestic abuse in Western Kentucky has died. The Merryman House Domestic Center announced Sunday, its founder J. Merryman Kemp died after a long battle with cancer.
Merryman founded the Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center in 1978.
In a Facebook post, The Merryman House said, "She wasn’t afraid to speak truth to power, and she wasn’t afraid to sit with those most in need at any moment they may need." The post went on to say, "The reason for the sadness is clear to anyone who had the pleasure of knowing her. The reason for the joy is equally clear- she is no longer suffering, and confined by the limitations of a body that aged well before her passion for life."Â
The group has been in Paducah since 1978 and provides a 24-hour emergency shelter, mental health services and legal advocacy among other programs. The group serves 8 counties in Western Kentucky and helps more than a thousand victims each year.
Kemp was 84 years old.
