by Len Lear
More than 600 people crowded into St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chestnut Hill on Friday, July 15, for a memorial service to say goodbye to Wendy Romig Concannon, a mother, wife, sister, artist, friend, businessperson, community volunteer and lifelong Chestnut Hill area resident who died peacefully on July 7, surrounded by her family. The cause of death was ovarian cancer. Wendy was 57.
What was so shocking to many was that this vibrant woman seemed the picture of health. Always fashionably dressed and full of energy, Wendy laughed a few months ago when I told her she looked like she should be on the cover of a health and fitness magazine. I’m sure I am not the only one who thought Wendy looked no more than 40 years old and therefore was shocked to read on the Jacob Ruth Funeral Directors website that she was actually 57.
Wendy’s husband of 30 years, Michael, told me last week that I was one of many friends and acquaintances who did not know of Wendy’s three-year history (“She hated the word ‘battle.’”) with ovarian cancer.
“She did not want cancer to define her,” said Michael, a technology consultant. “All the great things people said at the memorial service about her were true. From the time of her diagnosis three years ago, she was determined not to let the cancer get in the way of living a great life. She had great treatment at Jefferson Hospital and actually had good health for three years and…
