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Dancing With Angels
- Author:
- Phillip Stephens (philtex44@aol.com | 713-248-2299)
- Date Published:
- August 9, 2011
Dancing With Angels
Last December, in a report about our 2010 Holiday Show, we told everyone about a performance that was rather special to The Dance Place owners Phillip Stephens and Michael Schedler. This was a lovely Foxtrot danced by Marilyn Westheimer and her teacher Rabih Timani.
At that time, Marilyn was dealing with pancreatic cancer, and she wasn't sure she'd feel up to performing in the show and thought we should take her routine out of the program. But we told her we'd leave her in the program and that, if she wasn't up to dancing, we'd just skip that routine. Fortunately, she was able to perform and did a fantastic job.
Since then, Marilyn was able to dance less and less often, but still came in as frequently as possible because dancing took her to a special place that allowed her to feel free from worldly cares and, especially, she could forget about the cancer. She told me once that the dancing triggered endorphins that just made her feel much better than when she didn't dance.
As time went on, Marilyn's condition worsened and, eventually, she went into hospice care. After sleeping peacefully for two days, Marilyn passed away on Saturday, August 6th. She lived for 15 months after her diagnosis and was able to find joy in living those days, weeks and months. She took a trip to France with her husband and their children, danced in our show, danced as often as possible, visited with friends and lived life to the fullest. Now, I believe she is dancing with the angels.
There will be a memorial service for Marilyn at the Rice University Chapel. The service will be from 3:00-4:30pm on Thursday, August 18, with a reception to follow. Many of you may not be able to attend, but do take a moment to remember this beautiful person who touched those she met in a special way that was always filled with good spirits and a smile.
Happy Dancing
and remember
www.the-dance-place.com is also www.theplace2dance.com
