Tracey Lowmiller and Pamela Scoggins, who died last month in a massive San Rafael apartment building fire, spent many of their years helping others in need, according to people who knew them.
Lowmiller, 62, assisted people with rides, food and money, "even when she herself was living close to the edge of homelessness," said the Rev. Paul Gaffney of the San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo.
Lowmiller often spoke frequently at San Rafael City Council and Marin County Board of Supervisors meetings to address homelessness, Gaffney said.
"I didn't know her super well, but well enough to know that she cared about her friends and neighbors, and would help them out in any way that she could," he said.
Scoggins, 68, was a longtime volunteer at the Enterprise Resource Center in San Rafael. She worked as a peer support specialist who helped people with mental health challenges.
"She was one of our most valued volunteers, who worked and came in on days even when she didn't work," said Jennifer Carter, executive director of the Mental Health Advocates of Marin.
Lowmiller and Scoggins lived at 516 Canal St., a 19-apartment complex gutted by a fire on Aug. 21. The fire injured eight other people and displaced more than 50.
Authorities have called the fire suspicious, and it remains under investigation, San Rafael police Sgt. Justin Graham said Wednesday.
Lowmiller, who used to be homeless, regularly attended the annual memorial services held at First Presbyterian Church of San Rafael for homeless people in Marin County.
"They're still my people, and they're still my community," she told the Independent Journal at an event in 2021.
Nick Morris, an advisory board member for the Street Chaplaincy, knew Lowmiller for 10 years. The Street Chaplaincy organizes the annual service.
Morris said that when he bumped into Lowmiller at a holiday dinner, she handed him a $100 bill for a Street Chaplaincy fundraiser out of gratitude for its work for the homeless community.
"She was a beautiful soul who did her utmost to care and advocate for the unsheltered community," Morris said. "She would often pull me aside at the dinners and talk with me about people she was concerned about to rally help for them."
Scoggins worked with the nonprofit Downtown Streets Team, which invited her to help create a mural at Boyd Park in San Rafael as part of a beautification project in 2018.
"We wanted to give San Rafael a peaceful, loving message," Scoggins told the Independent Journal at the time.
Scoggins was a regular attendee at the county's Behavioral Health Board meetings. Todd Schirmer, a county health official, recalled her advocating for peer services in the behavioral health system.
"Pam was known for asking thoughtful, and sometimes challenging, questions of board members and county staff, always with kindness and humility," he said. "Her steady presence and commitment enriched every meeting, and the board will not be the same without her."
Zoe Neil, the Marin County director for the Downtown Streets Team, said Scoggins volunteered with her organization, which works in community projects and services such as outreach to homeless people. She remembered Scoggins proudly wearing her Downtown Streets Team shirt, cleaning up streets and saying hello to people.
"She was always so kind, always up for doing anything that was going on for the day," Neil said.
She said Scoggins had "one of those voices you don't forget."
"It was very calming and nurturing," Neil said. "That probably helped her connect with many vulnerable folks and folks who might be scared."
A celebration of Scoggins' life is planned for noon Sept. 11 at the Marin Health and Wellness Campus at 3240 Kerner Blvd. in San Rafael. Information about services for Lowmiller was unavailable.