Angela Shall Forever Be Our Angel..

Angela Cara Pancrazio

On June 4, 2007 my Aunt Angela was diagnosed with primary central nervous system lymphoma, a rare form of brain cancer. Almost exactly a year later on June 19, 2008 she passed away.

My Aunt was an inspirational, beautiful, successful woman and photographer.
She worked for the Arizona Republic and was a Pulitzer Prize winner.
Her photographs were amazing.

I remember the feeling of helplessness as I watched her struggle with this disease.
So many memories flooded me of the times that we shared.

One of my earliest memories is when my mom would say that Aunt Angela was coming to visit us and ultimately we would end up going on a road trip somewhere that we were all wanting to explore (Grand Canyon, Sedona, Prescott..) and my sister and I would always moan that we didn't want to have Aunt Angela come with us on the road trip as a 2 hour car trip turned into 5 hours! We would have to pull over every 2 minutes so that Aunt Angela could capture something she found fascinating with her camera...

Or the time that my mom and I visited her in San Francisco. We woke up that first morning to a breakfast she made for us that I will never forget. Huge bagels topped with cream cheese, fresh spinach, tomato, and a fried egg.. That was forever ago and for some reason the smell of that breakfast, her glowing smile, and that loving gesture still stays with me.

As Christmas gifts she would give us her photographs, that was the one gift I would look forward to every year. It was so exciting to open it up to see what she had chosen for us.
My favorite were her pin hole camera prints.

Her photographs surround my family on our homes walls. They bring me comfort as I feel the memory of her exudes from them.

It is a painful realization that we will no longer have time to create memories with her and
so I am participating in the Phoenix Brain Tumor Walk and Angel Adventure On Saturday, October 11th.
My hope in participating in this inspirational fundraising walk is so that it will help other families to be able to have the opportunity to create memories together.

I am blessed with a very close and strong family.
My mother, Mary Jo (the most independent beautiful woman) and my Aunt Bonita (Angela's sister's) along with my Uncle Lance (Bonita and Lance are also my Godparents and two of the most amazing people) will be joining me on this walk.

Please take the time to visit our fundraising page at
http://www.firstgiving.com/caraarrowsmith