Thursday, July 24, 2008

Death of Nancy Peterson

It saddens me to report that Nancy Peterson died this morning. Nancy was a longtime friend and colleague of mine at Morehead State University. She was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer six years ago and fought it with everything she and modern medicine had. Nancy had an outsized personality and she fought her cancer in an outsized way, gathering all the information possible, getting herself into experimental treatments, and undergoing round after round of radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. It was all emotionally exhausting to contemplate, but Nancy was never emotionally exhausted. She was very tough and determined even after she was told her time was limited.

Nancy and her husband Glen also had tremendous support from a group of very close friends who will go unnamed here but deserve an enormous amount of credit for their loyalty and steadfast love.

But, finally, her body just gave out. It's my understanding that her kidneys stopped functioning and that her liver was also having problems. After being in the hospital for most of the week, she finally slipped into a coma and passed away.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nancy is a angel.
I will miss her beauty and grace.
All my love and sympathy to her family and friends.
Ann A

Ric Caric said...

Well said.

Anonymous said...

Nancy will be greatly missed and fondly remembered. Her family are in our thoughts and prayers.
--Lydia G. and Family

Anonymous said...

I just found out today about her passing. A friend living abroad sent me an email. I was very saddened by it. She was a great teacher and human being.I did an internet search and I found this blog.
While thinking of her, some events came to mind. I recalled an incomplete I once had in one of her classes. To make up for it she required that I do a bibliography of all rhetoric holdings in the library. That meant a 100 page bibliography. A gargantuan project that to this very day is probably used as reference somewhere. I remember her wedding in 95 to Dr. Colburn. That date was stuck in my mind due to the fact that was a student at Dr. Colburn's summer class. I remember he took some time off for his honeymoon. I remember the birth of her son and how that was so exciting to her. I also have fond memories of riding together to a KPA conference in Louisville along with Dr. Colburn and Dr.Neeper and of Pesach at Lynne Taetzsch's house. My last memory was a chance encounter at the Fuzzy Duck in 2001 where I told her about the birth my daughter. She congratulated me enthusiastically. I will really miss her. A former pupil!

"The teacher deserves the name of father [mother] more than does the parent" Talmudic Proverb