NANCY SUSAN MANUSOW (BELL)

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NANCY SUSAN MANUSOW (nee BELL) Surrounded by her family, Nancy Manusow, age 51, passed away on November 28, 2003 following an heroic five and one half year struggle with cancer. She leaves to mourn her husband David; son and daughter, Joshua and Amy; mother Rose Bell; brothers, Hannon Bell (Lorraine), Kenneth Bell (Leesa) and nephew Daniel; mother-in-law Florence Manusow; sister-in-law Merle Greene (Phillip) and niece Rebecca, and aunt Pauline Essers. She was predeceased by her father Leon Bell in 2002. Nancy was born in Winnipeg and raised in River Heights. An exceptional student, she was accelerated and placed into the gifted programs at John Dafoe and J.B. Mitchell Schools, where she formed life-long friendships with many of her classmates. After working summers in her fathers pharmacy (Norlyn Drugs), Nancy pursued a career in Pharmacy, graduating in 1973 at the age of 20. She worked in the dispensaries at The Bay and Mount Carmel Clinic, before marrying David upon his graduation from medical school in 1975. In 1979, Nancy and David relocated to Cambridge, England. They spent two wonderful years there, ensconced in an elegant converted barnhouse in an idyllic English village while David pursued further training. As two kids from the Prairies, they revelled in their new surroundings. They also lived for one year in New York City and several more years in Pittsburgh before returning to Winnipeg in 1991. Nancy gloried in the birth of her children, Joshua in 1983 and Amy in 1986, whom she regarded as her greatest achievements. She was a fiercely devoted and proud mother who gave everything she had to her children. When Joshua was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of three, she rose to the challenge and did everything in her power to ensure that he grew into a healthy, fine young man. In 1999, despite being confronted with the news that her cancer had spread and was incurable, Nancy insisted on proceeding with Amys Bat Mitzvah. Nancy had a deep faith and found great strength in Judaism and its customs. Nancy was a traditionalist, a self-effacing, quiet, composed woman of immense grace, intelligence, compassion, and effortless beauty, who was equally at home attending a garden party at Buckingham Palace as she was working in an inner-city pharmacy helping the underprivileged. She was active in several community organizations, serving on the Board of the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue Sisterhood and ORT, and she helped deliver Meals on Wheels when she could. Nancy was a wonderful wife and mother who exhibited an extraordinary courage, and a remarkable and unrelenting strength throughout her illness. She always maintained her dignity, never ever complaining, or wanting to become a burden to anyone. She was truly an inspiration; she taught us all how to live. Funeral services took place November 30, 2003 at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue with Rabbi Green officiating, followed by interment at the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery. Pallbearers were Hannon Bell, Kenneth Bell, Manuel Glimcher, Nick Rice, and Drs. Phillip Greene, Jack Lezack, David Meyrowitz and Paul Shuckett. Special thanks to Dr. Andrew Maksymiuk of CancerCare Manitoba, for all of his efforts on Nancys behalf. Also to Dr. Michael Johnston of Torontos Princess Margaret Hospital, Dr. Georg Bjarnason of Sunnybrook Hospital, and Dr. Brian Weinerman of Victoria, BC for their care and encouragement.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 10, 2004