Lorna Jean Schaper 1942-2007

My sister lost her battle to ovarian cancer on November 13. She was in stage 4 for over two years and fought it to the end.

Update. There is an online web site for her at Memory-of.com where you can leave a condolence.

Lorna Jean Schaper (1942-2007)

On November 13, 2007, Lorna Jean Schaper lost a two-year battle to stage 4 ovarian cancer. She is missed by her family, friends, and co-workers.

She was born Lorna Jean Hebron in Oskaloosa, Iowa, March 30, 1942. Her family moved to Washington before her first birthday. She attended schools in Richland and Kennewick, Washington before moving to Seattle. She graduated from West Seattle High School, then attended Seattle Pacific College and Edison Technical School. She earned an Associate of Arts in Applied Sciences at Seattle Central Community College.

She worked for Boeing until leaving to be a full-time mother. Her passion was teaching elementary children as an Instructional Assistant for 22 years in Seattle Public Schools – Coe, TT Minor, Cooper, Cleveland High, and Summit K-12 Schools. She worked in a number of reading assistance programs and supervised recess (even when weak from cancer!), until illness forced her to leave in June 2007.

She enjoyed hobbies such as cross stitch, knitting, puzzles, reading the Seattle Times, sewing, and sudoku. As an accomplished seamstress she once made matching suits for her husband and son. She enjoyed her condo with its views of Elliot Bay and the commercial traffic, especially tugboats. She traveled to several states by private plane and enjoyed vacations at Sun Cove in Orondo, (Eastern) WA, Florida, and Hawaii. She was a Mariner’s Baseball fan and an avid fan of the Seattle Thunderbirds Hockey Team as a season ticket holder since their inception as the Breakers in 1977.

She participated in church throughout her life, singing in the church choir at Gatewood Baptist Church, teaching 3rd grade Sunday School class while at McMicken Heights Baptist Church. As a counselor, she took teens to Youth for Christ rallies and volunteered at a Billy Graham Crusade. As a member at Elim Baptist Church in Wallingford, she held different positions including Financial Secretary until the time of her death.

She is survived by her brothers Ronald (Virginia), Curtis (Mary), Richard (Lilly), and Gordon (Debbie) Hebron, and her Son, Scott (Patricia) all of the Seattle-Tacoma area.

Memorial service will be Dec. 1, 2007 11:00am at
Elim Baptist Church
2410 N 46th St
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 632-4354

Special thanks to the countless people that helped care for Lorna, the Elim Family and Swedish Cancer Institute, Ballard Treatment Center, ICU, and specifically Dr. Milder and Dr. Rivkin (who saved her life in Sept-2007).