As most of you know, Eric's cousin, Debbie, passed away last week at age 39 to breast cancer. We wanted to post the beautiful article about her in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I've also included a few pictures that we will hold dear to our hearts. We will miss her terribly.
The Green Family
Obituary: Deborah A. Mendoza / Drama teacher inspired students to fully appreciate Shakespeare
Jan. 5, 1970 - June 30, 2009
Thursday, July 02, 2009
By Jess Eagle, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Deborah Mendoza had a passion for Shakespeare that was so infectious, she could make children want to perform his classic, sometimes daunting plays.
A former drama and forensics teacher at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School in Coraopolis from 1996 to 1999, Mrs. Mendoza inspired children to find meaning and fun in classic plays throughout her short career. She died Tuesday after a four-year battle with breast cancer at her home in Middlesex Township surrounded by family. She was 39.
"You saw her love for Shakespeare. She was making it more alive for the kids," said Sister Francine Horos, principal of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. "Sometimes the props were very minimal, but that was OK because the plays usually took over."
In addition to teaching drama after school at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Mrs. Mendoza volunteered extensively for the theater program of Aquinas Academy in Gibsonia, where her children went to school.
She passed her love of theater and Shakespeare on to her daughters at an early age; Christiana Mendoza, 13, and Rachel Mendoza, 12, have both competed in the Pittsburgh Public Theater's Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Contest with middle and high school children from across the area.
Mrs. Mendoza had two other children, Rebekah, 10, and John-Peter, 3.
Her husband, Rob Mendoza, said his wife was constantly challenging him to push his boundaries for the better.
"I grew up in Queens, New York, in a city neighborhood. Now we live on eight acres with lots of lawn and farm animals and a horse in a rural setting," Mr. Mendoza said. "I never would've chosen this for myself."
She also pushed her husband into another one of the best decisions of their lives: the adoption of their son, John-Peter, from China three years ago.
Mrs. Mendoza was born on Long Island, and her family moved around a lot because her father was in the military, Mr. Mendoza said. She went to Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, where she received a bachelor's degree in arts, English literature and drama.
She and Mr. Mendoza, now a tax consultant at Deloitte, Downtown, met while studying abroad in Austria during their senior year at Franciscan in 1992. They married about a year later.
Even when she was young, Mrs. Mendoza loved classic drama.
"She thought that there was so much more truth in the classics," Mr. Mendoza said. "She was like that as long as I've known her. She was like that in her early 20s."
Mrs. Mendoza was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer in August 2005, the most advanced stage. Over the next four years, she tried different types of chemotherapy and radiation, but the cancer eventually made its way to her spine.
After two spinal surgeries, Mrs. Mendoza's mobility was sometimes limited, but she didn't let that stop her from pursuing her passion and staying active in her children's lives.
"She loved life. She fought really hard to be here to raise her children, and she refused to quit even when things were the bleakest," Mr. Mendoza said.
She was also dedicated to inspiring passion for theater in other children. Through her dedication to the Aquinas Academy theater program, she "reached so many young people in such a positive way," said Rob Zellers, director of education for Pittsburgh Public Theater.
"It went beyond theater," he said.
Mrs. Mendoza, a parishioner at St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church in Cranberry, was also a deeply religious woman, whose faith and hope helped her through her illness, her husband said.
"She survived as long as she did through sheer force of will," Mr. Mendoza said. "She did not go easily. She's my hero."
In addition to her husband and four children, she is survived by her parents, John and Sondra Green of Butler; grandparents Ed and Mary Green of Dallas; and a sister, Christina Stark, of Yosemite, Calif.
Jan. 5, 1970 - June 30, 2009
Thursday, July 02, 2009
By Jess Eagle, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Deborah Mendoza had a passion for Shakespeare that was so infectious, she could make children want to perform his classic, sometimes daunting plays.
A former drama and forensics teacher at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School in Coraopolis from 1996 to 1999, Mrs. Mendoza inspired children to find meaning and fun in classic plays throughout her short career. She died Tuesday after a four-year battle with breast cancer at her home in Middlesex Township surrounded by family. She was 39.
"You saw her love for Shakespeare. She was making it more alive for the kids," said Sister Francine Horos, principal of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. "Sometimes the props were very minimal, but that was OK because the plays usually took over."
In addition to teaching drama after school at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Mrs. Mendoza volunteered extensively for the theater program of Aquinas Academy in Gibsonia, where her children went to school.
She passed her love of theater and Shakespeare on to her daughters at an early age; Christiana Mendoza, 13, and Rachel Mendoza, 12, have both competed in the Pittsburgh Public Theater's Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Contest with middle and high school children from across the area.
Mrs. Mendoza had two other children, Rebekah, 10, and John-Peter, 3.
Her husband, Rob Mendoza, said his wife was constantly challenging him to push his boundaries for the better.
"I grew up in Queens, New York, in a city neighborhood. Now we live on eight acres with lots of lawn and farm animals and a horse in a rural setting," Mr. Mendoza said. "I never would've chosen this for myself."
She also pushed her husband into another one of the best decisions of their lives: the adoption of their son, John-Peter, from China three years ago.
Mrs. Mendoza was born on Long Island, and her family moved around a lot because her father was in the military, Mr. Mendoza said. She went to Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, where she received a bachelor's degree in arts, English literature and drama.
She and Mr. Mendoza, now a tax consultant at Deloitte, Downtown, met while studying abroad in Austria during their senior year at Franciscan in 1992. They married about a year later.
Even when she was young, Mrs. Mendoza loved classic drama.
"She thought that there was so much more truth in the classics," Mr. Mendoza said. "She was like that as long as I've known her. She was like that in her early 20s."
Mrs. Mendoza was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer in August 2005, the most advanced stage. Over the next four years, she tried different types of chemotherapy and radiation, but the cancer eventually made its way to her spine.
After two spinal surgeries, Mrs. Mendoza's mobility was sometimes limited, but she didn't let that stop her from pursuing her passion and staying active in her children's lives.
"She loved life. She fought really hard to be here to raise her children, and she refused to quit even when things were the bleakest," Mr. Mendoza said.
She was also dedicated to inspiring passion for theater in other children. Through her dedication to the Aquinas Academy theater program, she "reached so many young people in such a positive way," said Rob Zellers, director of education for Pittsburgh Public Theater.
"It went beyond theater," he said.
Mrs. Mendoza, a parishioner at St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church in Cranberry, was also a deeply religious woman, whose faith and hope helped her through her illness, her husband said.
"She survived as long as she did through sheer force of will," Mr. Mendoza said. "She did not go easily. She's my hero."
In addition to her husband and four children, she is survived by her parents, John and Sondra Green of Butler; grandparents Ed and Mary Green of Dallas; and a sister, Christina Stark, of Yosemite, Calif.
Grandpa and Grandma Green's 60th wedding anniversary.
