Remembering Magdalen Eckhoff
Magdalen Eckhoff was a co-founder of Best Friends and someone who really nurtured and held the community together in the early days when there was the most struggle.
Gentle and a little mystical, Magdalen was a comforting presence. She would bake bread, put together group meals, and was the one who turned Angel Village (where people at the Sanctuary today take their lunch) into a central hub of the community from the very earliest days.
She was good not only at baking but also at other crafts. With the early Sanctuary always struggling for money, she would make little sachets to sell. For a time, she even opened and ran the Best Friends Café in the nearby town of Kanab. It’s no longer in existence, but at the time, it helped bring in a little more revenue for the animals.
She shared her home with a pig named Molly and was the one who brought the first two rescued parrots to the Sanctuary.
Magdalen truly believed in angels. And she believed that the animals in some way gave us all a glimpse into the angelic realms.
But she also knew the meaning of pain. Tragically, Magdalen lost a son at an early age and never recovered from it. She carried it with her always.
Then, she herself died much too young of cancer. She left behind two sons and a husband, Paul Eckhoff, who had waited years for the chance to marry her and would have waited a hundred more.
Magdalen’s soft, nurturing presence can still be felt at the Angel Village Café and throughout the Sanctuary. We think of her whenever we think of angels.
