Dana Morosini Reeve '84, a Middlebury alum and widow of the late actor Christopher Reeve, passed away on Monday night after a battle with lung cancer, which she announced she had contracted this past August. She was 44 years old and a lifetime nonsmoker.
As chairwoman of the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which works to better the quality of life for those suffering from paralysis, Reeve worked tirelessly to care for Christopher, who was paralyzed from the waist down after a horseback riding accident in 1995.
After doctors initially predicted that he would never regain feeling or movement below his neck, through rehabilitation he defied the odds and recovered some feeling and movement. His story became motivation for millions who suffer from paralysis.
Dana and Christopher co-delivered the Middlebury College Class of 2004 commencement address on Sunday, May 23, 2004 to 5,000 attendees. Both received honorary degrees, which was the second Middlebury degree for Dana, who graduated as an English major in 1984.
Of Dana, John Bertolini, Ellis professor of English and liberal arts, said, "Dana Morosini - as I knew her when she was my student and advisee - was one of those people with the gift, the gift of making other people feel that life was wonderful. She walked into class with a smile and left with a smile. When she entered the class discussion -- which she did frequently - she always expressed herself with passionate vitality. Her sheer love of life came through in every word she spoke because she always seemed to be laughing in her thoughts, taking joy in the plays we were studying."
Bertolini continued, "I used to cheat a little by asking her more often than others to read parts aloud in class because she was just so alive when she read. She was the kind of student it's easy for a teacher to adore, and I adored her. May God give her family the strength to go on."
Reeve is survived by her and Christopher's son Will, 13, her father, two sisters and two stepchildren.
Written by POLLY JOHNSON
