Deadra Malloy
Deadra Malloy
Deadra Malloy, a co-founder of P.O.S.I.T.I.V.E Voices, which is an advocacy group for HIV-positive women in South Carolina, died Friday, August 21. She was 53.

According to a statement by the Positive Women’s Network–USA, Malloy suffered a heart attack following routine surgery for a torn rotator cuff.

Malloy had also served as one of the first two co-chairs of PWN-USA’s South Carolina regional chapter. She was diagnosed with HIV in 1988 and committed decades of her life to fighting stigma and educating and empowering her community regarding HIV. She was a motivational speaker, workshop facilitator, and local, state and national trainer.

P.O.S.I.T.I.V.E. (Proactive, Optimistic, Sisters, In Touch, Involved, Validated & Empowered) Voices is an ongoing initiative of the South Carolina HIV/AIDS Council. Malloy also served as a community liaison for the council’s Project F.A.I.T.H. (Fostering AIDS Initiatives That Heal) prevention program.

She is survived by her husband, Cleveland Hayes Malloy, four children and eight grandchildren.

She graduated from high school in 1977 and completed a bachelor of science in human services in 2012. You can listen to a poem in her honor included on the PWN-USA statement, and you can read more about her advocacy and life in this Riley Hampton Chapel obituary.