Arley McNeney Death – Canadian former Paralympic wheelchair basketball player Arley McNeney also known to many as Arley McNeney Cruthers has sadly passed away. Arley McNeney, an applied communications instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University died this past week. She was announced dead through publications shared on Twitter. Arley was an endlessly devoted and caring mother to her daughter, Dottie. She was a passionate advocate for justice and equality.
She was a force against ableism. She was a fighter and educator for true accessibility and inclusion. She was a community builder and one of the most empathetic people you’d ever meet. Her work on open education was inspiring and “we have lost an amazing force.” No cause of death was reported.
Arley McNeney’s early life
Arley McNeney Cruthers was born in 1983 in New Westminster, British Columbia. She was restricted to a wheelchair and crutches from age 11 until age 27 after being diagnosed with avascular necrosis. McNeney attended the University of Victoria and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where she obtained an MFA and participated on the Fighting Illini women’s varsity wheelchair basketball team.
Career
McNeney joined the women’s national wheelchair basketball team of Canada in 2001, and the following year she won gold at the Wheelchair Basketball World Championship. As a result, she received the Premier Athletic Award for New Westminster in British Columbia. McNeney was nominated to Team Canada’s national wheelchair basketball squad for the 2004 Summer Paralympics, where she contributed to the team’s bronze medal victory. She was nominated to Team Canada for the 2006 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship two years later.
She was chosen to compete in the 2008 Osaka Cup. After getting hip replacement surgery that allowed her to walk again, she was forced to quit wheelchair basketball. In 2014, she got the Coach of the Year award from the BC Wheelchair Basketball Society. While teaching communications at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, McNeney and her husband Chris Cruthers began organizing online dating classes for disabled adults.
Arley McNeney GoFundMe
Denver McNeney, a resident of Delta, British Columbia has set up a GoFundMe page to assist the family with funeral and other expenses during this difficult time. The goal for the page “A fund for Dottie” was set at $1,000. So far, it has raised USD 11,245. “We would be equally grateful for your stories or memories of Arley. Any funds raised will go towards Dottie’s future development and education.”
An obituary is not available at this time for Arley McNeney.
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