Spokesman: Ruth Ziolkowski, who helped make Crazy Horse Memorial a national draw has died

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Ruth Ziolkowski, who helped turn South Dakota's Crazy Horse Memorial into a national draw after her sculptor husband's death, has died. She was 87.

Memorial spokesman Mike Morgan says she died late Wednesday night in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Ziolkowski (joo-uhl-KUF'-skee) carried on her late husband's dream of honoring Native Americans by carving the likeness of warrior Crazy Horse into South Dakota's Black Hills.

She helped lead the effort to shift the focus from the warrior's horse to carving his 90-foot-tall face, a move credited with an infusion of donations and worldwide interest.

The memorial was dedicated in 1998 on its 50th anniversary, but the massive project is slow-going. Project organizers won't take government money.

Ziolkowski will be buried at the base of the mountain next to her husband.