ST PAUL, Minn. — St. Paul Public Schools Board Chairwoman Marny Xiong died Sunday morning following a month-long battle with the coronavirus, according to family statement.
Xiong, 31, was elected to the St. Paul School Board in 2017 and earlier this year was voted the Chair of the Board.
"She was a person who saw things in this country and the world that were wrong; racial injustice, gender inequality, the genocide of the Hmong people and she felt that she had to take it upon herself to try to do everything she can to change that," said Dai Thao, Xiong's brother-in-law. "I think she was living her dream and trying to create change in a school district that needs a lot of help."
Her family has set a GoFundMe page to help cover medical and funeral costs.
"Our hearts are broken with the news of the passing of our friend, colleague and Board Chair Marny Xiong," said St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent Joe Gothard and Vice Chair Jeanelle Foster in a joint statement. "There are no words that can reflect the loss that we, our school district and our community have suffered."
Xiong grew up on the east side of St. Paul and graduated from Arlington High School in 2007. Her parents, Zahoua Xiong and See Xiong, came to Minnesota as political refugees from CIA's Secret War in Laos, according to the family's online fundraiser.
"Marny will be remembered as an inspiring community organizer, a courageous leader and fierce champion for education, gender equity, and racial justice," her family said in a statement. "She was a selfless public servant who made the community’s problems her duty to solve. To those who knew her, Marny was more than a loving daughter, aunt, niece, cousin, a devoted friend and sister. She was beautiful; she was a book of generosity and fire."
The family says funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.
"I knew what Marny stood for, and I will continue to honor her beloved SPPS students, families and community members," said Gothard in a tweet. "Marny’s fierce determination for equity & her loving heart will be with me forever."