Former arts teacher Provance dies of leukemia complications.Byline: The Register-Guard Carol Lee Provance, a former arts teacher who captured the public's attention when in need of a bone marrow transplant bone marrow transplant: see bone marrow. in 2001, has died from complications of leukemia. She was 51. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Westminster Presbyterian Church Westminster Presbyterian Church can refer to:
Provance, of Eugene, was an arts teacher at Springfield High School Springfield High School may refer to:
She retired to pursue a career as a movie set decorator and magazine stylist and location scout. She worked on such movies as "The Postman" and "Without Limits" and for the magazines "House Beautiful" and "Real Simple." Among her claims to fame: She portrayed Glenda the Good Witch in a traveling show of "Twister," a spoof of "The Wizard of Oz Wizard of Oz reaches and departs from Oz in circus balloon. [Children’s Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz] See : Ballooning Wizard of Oz false wizard takes up residence in Emerald City. [Am. Lit. " written by author Ken Kesey. Provance was diagnosed with an acute form of leukemia in early 2001. After news accounts of her plight, several hundred people lined up at local blood drives in hopes of finding a bone marrow match. "I know this sounds strange, but I remember thinking, `This is the happiest day of my life!' Provance recalled in 2002 about the day she greeted dozens of would-be donors. No local match was found, but a nearly perfect match was later found through the National Marrow Donor Program The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is a nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that operates the federally funded registry of volunteer hematopoietic cell donors in the United States. These potential donors, numbering more than 6. . Provance received the bone marrow transplant and was given a 40 percent chance of survival. The leukemia never returned, but she eventually contracted graft-vs.-host disease Graft-vs.-Host Disease Definition Graft-vs.-host disease is an immune attack on the recipient by cells from a donor. Description , which happens when a donor's marrow attacks a recipient's tissue. Her kidneys failed and she was forced to go on dialysis early this year. Provance touched hundreds of students' lives as an art teacher, family friend Mona Buckley said. For years, Provance would show a foreign film for her students each Friday in the teachers' lounge, and order and pay for the pizza. Provance was born in Eugene on June 16, 1954, to Charlotte and Robert Lee. She graduated from Springfield High in 1972, and earned her bachelor and master's of art education degrees from the University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. . She married Ron Provance in Eugene in May of 1976. They later divorced. She lived in Mississippi in 1977 and in Germany in 1981. Her interests included painting, reading, movies, travel and spending time with friends and family. She was a member of the National Art Education, Oregon Art Education and National Education associations. Survivors include her mother, of Eugene; and two sisters, Kathy Carpenter and Karen Lee, both of Springfield. Musgrove Family Mortuary of Eugene is in charge of arrangements. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society American Cancer Society, n.pr established in 1913, this national volunteer-based health organization is committed to the elimination of cancer through prevention and treatment and to diminishing cancer suffering through advocacy, scholarship, research, , Oregon division. - Jeff Wright |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion