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Her husband, David Durand, also 52, wasn’t at the parade. But he found out what happened immediately after. By the time Mr. Durand made it to the scene, it was chaos, he said. The next time he saw his wife, it was at the morgue, when he identified her body.
Ms. Durand, who is from Waukesha, met her husband when they both attended Mukwonago High School. They later reconnected and married eight years ago. Before retiring, Ms. Durand worked as a recruiting assistant at Virgin Media.
These days, when Ms. Durand wasn’t dancing, she cared for her grandson four days a week and volunteered for local hospitals and the Red Cross. Ms. Durand, who was the group’s youngest member, had also been a longtime dancer.
Her husband said that dancing “was her happy place.” “She was vibrant, energetic,” her husband said. “Everyone knew her. She was that kind of person that captured your attention as soon as she walked into the room.”
“She was always like a cheerleader,” Mr. Durand said. “She literally danced her way through the day.”
A representative of Milwaukee Dancing Grannies did not immediately return phone calls seeking more information, but the statement said the group would post more details as they became available.
“The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies are devastated by this terrible tragedy,” the statement said, adding, “Our group was doing what they loved, performing in front of crowds in a parade putting smiles on faces of all ages, filling them with joy and happiness.”
Founded in 1984, the group performed choreographed pompom routines and dances at summer and winter parades across southern Wisconsin. A Facebook posting said members need only be “a grandmother or grandmother figure,” available for weekly practice, healthy and “ready to have fun.”
Daniel Victor contributed reporting.