DENVER – Renee Good was a beacon of joy and celebration in life, known for her love of sparkles, laughter, and her tendency to embrace every festivity. Her infectious warmth extended to nearly everyone she encountered, and she was famously tardy to most events, much to the amusement of her loved ones.
“She had this remarkable ability to make you feel cherished and valued, something I only truly appreciated after she was gone,” shared Donna Ganger, reflecting on her daughter’s unique presence. Renee was tragically shot and killed by an immigration officer during a federal crackdown in Minneapolis, a loss that still echoes in the hearts of those who knew her.
Her father, Tim Ganger, encapsulated her essence, describing her as “slow to anger, quick to love, quick to care.” These qualities defined Renee, who was not only a daughter but a mother of three, whose life was cut short at 37. Her untimely death on January 7, amidst a surge of immigration enforcement efforts in Minneapolis, sparked national protests. The tragedy of Renee’s death was compounded by the subsequent loss of another protester, Alex Pretti, fueling calls for a reassessment of immigration policies, particularly because both victims were U.S. citizens.
In Denver, Renee’s parents, along with her brothers Brent and Luke Ganger, sat down with journalists from the Associated Press, sharing their grief and memories of Renee. “Facing the future without her will be incredibly challenging,” expressed Donna Ganger. “Her absence is a constant source of pain.”
Good’s parents and two of her brothers, Brent and Luke Ganger, met AP journalists Friday in Denver for a long interview.
“It’s going to be hard in the future,” Donna Ganger said. “It’s going to be kind of a constant pain.”
Her brothers have spoken about how they hoped her death would inspire change.
In testimony to Congress, Luke Ganger said his family is “a very American blend. We vote differently, and we rarely completely agree on the finer details of what it means to be a citizen of this country.”
Yet “we have always treated each other with love and respect,” he said.
On the morning of the shooting, as immigration raids and protests were flaring across the city, Good’s partner, Becca Good, has said they had stopped their car in the street to support neighbors during an immigration operation.
Video shows Renee Good in a red SUV blocking part of the road and repeatedly honking her horn.
Two immigration officers get out of a truck and one orders Good to open her door. She reverses briefly, then turns the steering wheel as the officer says again, “get out of the car.” Almost simultaneously, Becca Good, standing in the street shouts, “drive, baby, drive!”
When Good begins pulling forward, an ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and fires at least two shots into the car, killing Good.
Her family, friends and neighbors have remembered Good as gentle, kind and openhearted.
Good, her 6-year-old son and her partner — the women were not legally married, according to a family lawyer, but referred to one another as wives — had only recently relocated to Minneapolis from Kansas City, Missouri, settling a quiet residential street in a tight-knit neighborhood known for its activism.
In social media accounts, Good described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom.” A profile picture posted to Pinterest shows her smiling and holding a young child against her cheek, along with posts about tattoos, hairstyles and home decorating.
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