RUMFORD – A vigil to honor a local victim of domestic violence is scheduled for noon Monday at Morency Park in Rumford.

Nancy Smith, 47, of Rumford, was killed by her longtime companion, Melvin Rocky Bishop, on Nov. 3, on a dirt road in East Dixfield.

Mitzi Copeland, coordinator of the local Abused Women’s Advocacy Project, said the vigil will honor Smith, eight other women in Maine who were killed by their partners this year, and all other victims in the country and the world who have died at the hands of their partners.

“We hope by holding a vigil we will raise awareness of this senseless and tragic act that claims the lives of over 1,000 women a year in the United States,” said Copeland.

Smith worked in the occupational health office of Swift River Health Care in Rumford. Before that, she had worked at Rumford Hospital and Elsemore Dixfield Clinic.

She and Bishop had been together for 26 years before she moved out about three weeks before her death. Bishop shot himself after shooting Smith, police said.

Copeland said she expects members of local police departments, the district attorney’s office, and employees from Swift River Health Care to attend. Also expected are representatives from the Maine Silent Witness Project, an organization that honors Maine women who have been killed in acts of domestic violence.

She said she hopes others from the community will attend the vigil to show support for ending domestic abuse.

Morency Park is along River Street