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