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In Memory Of Those We Have Lost

Martha Sweet 1940-2023

Martha was our second team Captain from 2014-2016.  She was a lady of many talents and an adventurous soul.  She loved dragon boating and said it truly changed her life to become part of the Mammoglams team. 

Martha had three children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.  She was the epitome of what a Grandmother should be, raising the bar for the rest of us that follow.  Her family was of utmost importance to her and always came first.

Many don't realize that Martha was an accomplished archer, divemaster, and scuba instructor.  Her more recent gift to the world was raising and releasing Monarch butterflies.  Her children even built her a Butterfly House in her backyard.  

We will always remember Martha as the one always willing to try anything, often stating "Let's do it!"  On her 75th birthday, Coach Marty asked her to paddle with his JDBC competitive team "FLASH."  She was awed by the experience and the gold medal they took home that day!

Thank you Martha, for being our friend and role model.  You will be forever in our hearts.


 
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Marina Kaplan 1962-2020

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The fragile beauty of life:
There's a shift in your perceptions when faced with a deeper understanding of the fragile beauty of life.  Everything becomes clearer and so profoundly precious.  There is sheer bliss in the simple joys of life, felt so much more deeply when experienced alongside the knowledge that it's fleeting and the reality of imminent loss.  A terminal illness is a lens through which that which matters most can shift into perfect clarity.  Anger and sorrow do not dictate my life.

                                                  -Marina Pomare Kaplan

Marina & Paul moved to Jacksonville in 2015.  They walked into In the Pink one day and met Jeri.  She told them about dragon boating and explained that they would have an "immediate group of friends" if they gave it a try.  They showed up the next evening and the rest is history.  Though Marina rarely got to paddle, she often accompanied the Mammoglams in the boat.  Paul became an integral member of JDBC and paddled on the competitive team.  

Marina was much more than a breast cancer survivor.  She had a very accomplished career in population health/applied epidemiology and after retiring due to her diagnosis, became fully involved in advocacy. Marina was a patient advocate volunteer with Living Beyond Breast Cancer, Metavivor, the MBC Alliance, and Komen Advocates in Science. Her goal as a patient advocate was to support research for the treatment of MBC, improve access to clinical trials, and ensure high quality oncology healthcare for all patients with MBC. Any person living with cancer who was fortunate enough to cross paths with Marina would attest that her contributions towards that goal were immense.

Maureen Weiler 1947-2018

 

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Maureen was a member of the inaugural Mammoglams team and our first Team Captain from 2012-2014.  She was an avid runner and loved everything associated with Disney.  Maureen's mother was an amazing seamstress and always made the best costumes for Maureen's races. 

 

Maureen was really looking forward to going to Italy for the IBCPC race with the Mammoglams.  Unfortunately, she passed away a few months before that festival, though her ashes were there with us thanks to Lisa Henry.  We also had a sticker made in her honor (shown above) and many of us have it on our paddles.  

 

Her mother shared with us after her passing that Maureen was known as "Lisa" to all her work friends.  Apparently, the Mammoglams team was the only group of people who called her Maureen! 

 

We all miss Maureen and will always remember her kind spirit and loving heart.  We feel sure she is in Heaven watching down upon us and is proud to see our progress. 

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