Memorial set for Val Ogden on April 26

A memorial service will be held for former First Citizen Val Ogden at 1 p.m. April 26 at Clark College Gaiser Hall, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way. The service is open to the public.

Ogden died of cancer on Wednesday afternoon. She was 90 years old.

Her long career of public service was marked by her devotion to the causes of women and children. She served as executive director of YWCA Clark County and speaker pro tempore in the state House of Representatives, where she served six terms. She was named Clark County’s First Citizen in 2006.

Last year, she won election at age 89 to the Board of Clark County Freeholders, which is in the process of drafting a county charter for submission to voters.

After news of her death broke, many community members spoke of her positive influence in both Clark County and throughout the state.

“This marks the end of an era,” wrote Pam Brokaw, former executive director of Partners in Careers in Vancouver and now a pastor at Castle Rock and Winlock United Methodist Churches, in a comment on The Columbian’s website. “What a grand and loving, smart and committed woman of integrity and courage. I am so grateful to have known Val. Her service on behalf of justice and mercy cannot be matched.”