Rebecca Cornell Slattery, 59, died October 24 at Danbury Hospital. She was born May 27, 1958, in Bridgeport and was the daughter of Gerri Oberg Cornell and Kent B.Cornell, formerly of Virginia.

Ms Slattery graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in drug and alcohol counseling. A devoted victim advocate, she was previously employed as the director of the Victim Witness Program for Gloucester County, Va., Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. Prior to her employment for Gloucester County she was a victim witness advocate for the city of Newport News, Va. Among her many professional accolades she was awarded the Sally Kerns-Kent Johnson Award for Outstanding Service to Victims of Crime.

Her husband of 23 years, William G. Slattery of Achilles, Va.; a son, Ryan Blais of North Carolina; a sister, Tracy Kean and her husband, Brian, of Newtown; a brother, David Cornell and wife, JoAnne, of Bethel; a grandson, Ethan Baur of New Milford; an uncle and several nieces, nephews, and cousins survive Ms Slattery. She is also survived by George Lockwood, Sr, of Sandy Hook. A daughter, Meghan Cornell Blais; and her parents predeceased her.

She enjoyed reading, camping, and watching her beloved Dallas Cowboys. She was a member of the Abingdon Ruritan Club of Bena, Va., and the Red Hat Glamorous Gals of Gloucester, Va.

A memorial service will be held at the Newtown United Methodist Church, 92 Church Hill Road, Sandy Hook, on Saturday, November 18, at 11 am.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations are requested to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, 641 South Street NW, Washington DC 20001.