Nancy Orazem Taught French, Overcame Odds Against Cancer

Nancy (Durkin) Orazem of Edgartown, formerly of Melrose, died on March 30 at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The cause was multiple myeloma. She was 56.

She was the daughter of the late Arthur and Catherine Kennedy Durkin of Melrose, the wife of Dr. Garrett Orazem of Edgartown, and the loving mother of Lucy D. Orazem of Manhattan and Timothy D. Orazem of Edgartown.

A graduate of Newton College of the Sacred Heart and Middlebury College, Nancy taught French and German at Thetford Academy in Vermont, the Needham Public Schools and at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School.

A funeral Mass was held Monday at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Oak Bluffs, with the Rev. Michael Neagle officiating, assisted by the Rev. Robert Edmunds of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Edgartown. The Martha's Vineyard Regional High School Minnesingers, directed by Daniel Murphy, filled the church with celestial music, a selection of Nancy's favorite hymns. Ed Rodgers, Linda Berg and Jan Wightman accompanied them on the trumpet and organ. The overflow crowd included dozens of teachers and students, past and present. Some of Nancy's German students formed an honor guard at the church door.

Nancy was remembered as a warm, funny and intellectually vibrant woman who had touched the lives of countless people. Her epic battle against a rare form of cancer was an inspiration to many. She struggled with multiple myeloma for 15 years. She was a patient at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and participated in many clinical trials using drugs identified only by letters and numbers. Nancy wanted to survive to raise her children - and her children grew from six and 11 to 20 and 25. She never allowed her illness to keep her from her most important concerns - her family and her teaching. As recently as the beginning of March, Nancy spent a week in Paris with her daughter and sister. She taught on Monday, March 21, nine days before she died.

Interment was in the New Westside Cemetery in Edgartown. In addition to her husband and two children, she is survived by a sister, Priscilla Durkin of Melrose and a brother, Arthur "Buzz" Durkin and his wife Judy of Atkinson, N.H. She is also survived by several cousins, devoted friends, especially Irene Suzuki and Rita L. Houlihan, and by her many students.

Donations may be made in her memory to Kenwood Convent of the Sacred Heart, 790 South Pearl Street, Albany, N.Y. 12202. Arrangements were under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home. Visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book.