Heritage Hall – Nassawadox
Ms. Rebecca Ranson, 70 years old, grew up in North Carolina. She had a love and passion for theatrics that helped her completion of an undergraduate and graduate degree in the fine arts. Once Ms. Ranson completed her Master’s program, she became a creative writing instructor in North Carolina where she developed a love for helping people. Her love for writing plays and aiding others did not fully culminate until a close friend of hers died of HIV. In a time period when HIV was highly misunderstood and often shunned, Ms. Ranson did the unthinkable and wrote a play on the subject. The play, entitled Warren, highly contributed to the movement for HIV awareness and prevention programs. After Warren, she continued her social work efforts by joining multiple grassroots theatre organizations with the goal of providing a voice to those who were often left voiceless.
Over Ms. Ranson’s lifetime, she aided in the creation of over 50 plays and achieved the rare Robert Chesley Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. Currently, her work remains highly revered and is archived at Emory University in North Carolina.
Ms. Ranson embodies the true essence of success. She took advantage of what she loved and while achieving her dreams, selflessly helped others around her. If asked about her successes, she limits her responses to a curious look and a smile due to Alzheimer’s disease. Despite this disease halting her physical ability to put stories on paper, her loved ones, fellow residents, and loving staff know that in her silence, she will never stop creating masterpieces.
Ms. Rebecca Ranson is a resident at Heritage Hall – Nassawadox where she has resided since May 2013.