One life, well lived

New biography chronicles Mary Jo Cropper’s battle with cancer – and her story’s power

The following passage is based on author Author Janice Hisle's personal note, included in the back of a new biography: “A Comforting Light: Cancer Crusader Mary Jo Cropper & Her Legacy of Hope” (2020, Orange Frazer Press). Used with permission.

When the family of Mary Jo Stolle Cropper contacted me about writing her biography and telling the story of the medical facility she helped establish, I felt honored. But I also felt a slight hesitancy.

That was partly because I mostly had written about crime and justice, not philanthropy, during my two decades as a journalist. It also was partly because much of Mary Jo’s story revolved around cancer – something I knew very little about and, frankly, was almost afraid to learn about.

Many people don’t want to admit how disquieting that word can be. It’s as if we subconsciously fear that talking about cancer lends more power to it. Or maybe, if we mistakenly utter it too many times, we might conjure it up like the menacing spirit in the movie, “Beetlejuice.”

After much personal reflection, I have concluded that the opposite is true. Talking about – and writing about – cancer in an upfront, honest way is important, even if it’s not pleasant. In doing so, we respect those who have been afflicted with it. We validate people whose loved ones have suffered with it. We enlighten people who haven’t had cancer and hope to God that they never do. We honor the memory of those who succumbed to it, such as Mary Jo. And we inspire people to contribute to its eradication.

While writing about Mary Jo’s final days, I caught myself wishing that I were a fiction writer, just this once. That way, I could use the magic of my keystrokes to keep my protagonist alive. The heroine of this story deserved that.

Writing the chapters about her death and funeral hurt. I had absorbed such emotional impact from everyone I had interviewed, I was almost paralyzed. Yet I know that I still cannot fully understand what Mary Jo – and all who loved her – endured. Nor do I pretend to understand what other cancer patients go through.

At the same time, I realized that cancer isn’t really the star of this show. Mary Jo is. Because this is truly a story about the tremendous impact of one life, well-lived.

Mary Jo’s story provides powerful lessons about the choices we make in life – and about prioritizing what really matters. Her story also underscores the importance of little things that don’t cost a cent, even though her story is also about a million-dollar donation and its huge multiplier effect.

Although the ending isn’t the one that any of us would have preferred, Mary Jo’s loved ones hope that telling her story will encourage many other “Mary Jos,” whether or not they are afflicted with cancer or blessed with wealth.

Every person who gave an interview expanded the palette used to “paint” Mary Jo’s life portrait – many bright, joyous swaths interspersed with patches of darkness; sometimes in broad brushstrokes, sometimes with finely detailed ones. Dozens of people stepped up to the canvas and made splashes, big and small. I just decided how to arrange those contributions into the most authentic portrayal possible.

It is my hope that the portrait that unfolded in the pages of “A Comforting Light” is vivid, insightful and inspiring to all who view it. And most of all, I hope it comes close to being as beautiful as Mary Jo was, inside and out.

The limitations of the written word render us unable to look into Mary Jo’s eyes, to hear her voice or to feel her life’s energy. But she did build so much during her life, most notably brighter futures for everyone she served: students, relatives, friends, strangers.

If we pay close attention to all of that, and to the words in this book, we cannot help but feel her presence. We cannot help but feel hope.

It is my hope that, through this book, many others will appreciate her accomplishments, big and small, and will be motivated to support the Center that meant so much to her – not just during October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but also throughout the year.

Proceeds from the sale of “A Comforting Light: Cancer Crusader Mary Jo Cropper & Her Legacy of Hope” (2020, Orange Frazer Press), benefit the Mary Jo Cropper Family Center for Breast Care at Bethesda North Hospital, Montgomery.

Order: www.orangefrazer.com

Author Janice Hisle

About Mary Jo Cropper

As a Cincinnati-area schoolteacher, cancer crusader and philanthropist, Mary Jo Stolle Cropper sowed seeds of kindness that are continuing to grow, nearly a decade after she died of breast cancer.

Her legacy is The Mary Jo Cropper Family Center for Breast Care on the Bethesda Hospital North campus. A leading-edge facility responsible for many “firsts” in the Cincinnati region, the Center served about 60,000 people last year. Cropper’s gift of $1 million led to the center’s establishment.

First diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, while she was a teacher in the Lebanon City Schools, she continued teaching while undergoing chemotherapy. And she went on a mission to help others with support groups and fund-raising that eventually led to the Cropper Center.

In helping others afflicted with cancer, Cropper continued a family tradition of entrepreneurship, philanthropy and altruism that began with her father, Ralph J. Stolle. A Kentucky native who became a self-made multimillionaire, Stolle held dozens of patents, donating much of his fortune to support research on human health, including cancer.

In 2011, about a year and a half after the Center opened, Cropper passed away; she was 69.

About breast cancer

Breast cancer is the second-mostcommon cancer in women, after skin cancer. Mammograms can detect it early, possibly before it has spread.

About 12.9 percent of women will face breast cancer at some point in their lives. In 2017, there were an estimated 3.6 million women living with breast cancer in the U.S.

The survival rate has been improving; about 90 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer will live at least five years.

Men also can get breast cancer; they make up about 1 percent of breast cancer cases.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Source: National Cancer Institute