Sophie

A prankster. who always had a twinkle in her eye, Sophie Champoux had a fierce love for her brothers and her country. An infections laugh and  wicked pranks made her quite the pistol at 4’11. She did everything her brothers did and would often talk them in to doing things that she knew her mom wouldn’t want them to do. She was quite the instigator. She joined the Army after attending college. She became a medic and was well loved by her Army family, and everyone she met. She would have her mom send candy so that she could give it to the children in Afghanistan. Tragically, Sophie was raped on three separate occasions –twice in the United States, once in Afghanistan. On two of those occasions she was raped by the same man, who stalked her from Afghanistan to Georgia. No one in her chain of command could protect her from this stalker. It became too much to bear and Sophie lost her battle on September 30, 2011.


​
Funny note, almost every time the portraits are displayed, Sophie's portrait goes crooked and just won't display square with the rest of them. Guess she's still playing pranks...even after she's left this earth.

This portrait received funding to go home to her family. Jessica was able to travel to North Carolina and deliver it in person to her mom. The following year, her mom passed from Covid related complications. Jessica feels truly blessed to have met her when she did. A copy of Sophie's portrait continues to travel with Jessica and the Words Matter exhibit.