Our deepest sympathies are with Brenda's family and friends at this difficult time.
School board director dies
School board director dies
By: GEMA MARIA DUARTE
Bucks County Courier Times
MORRISVILLE SCHOOLS
Brenda Worob, 50, served on the board since 2005.
Brenda Worob loved to watch the sunset.
It became one of her favorite pastimes after she was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago, when doctors told her she had three to six months to live.
She surprisingly exceeded doctors' expectations, but at 3 a.m. Friday she lost her battle to the disease. The last eight months of her life, the Morrisville school board director was homebound, mostly on bed rest, Penny Johnson, her sister-in-law, said Friday afternoon.
Worob, 50, leaves behind her husband and high school sweetheart, Stephen, and their two children, Jenny, 29, and Stephen, 26.
The year Worob was diagnosed with the disease, she and her husband, a former borough councilman, rented a beach house at the Jersey Shore. They continued the tradition the next 10 years.
"I say thank you to her because she taught my brother to relax by watching the sunset," Johnson said. "She lived life by the moment. She refused to believe doctors (about her limited time to live). She really thought she was going to beat this."
Worob moved from Langhorne to Morrisville when she was 16. At 21, she became a Republican committeewoman, a position she kept through her sickness.
In 2005, Worob was elected to the school board and re-elected in 2009. In addition to being board treasurer up until the time of her death, she was an outspoken member of the board on many contentious issues.
"Brenda faced the challenges confronting the Morrisville School District with great insight. She did what was best for the community and the education of our students," said the district in a written statement.
School director Marlys Mihok described Worob as a "gem of a woman."
"I lost my best friend," Mihok said. "I'll miss everything about her - her spirit, her courage, her optimism about life. She did so much for the community."
In 2004, she worked as legislative assistant for former state Sen. Joe Conti. She continued that position with Sen. Charles McIlhinney, R-10, through 2009, when her illness worsened.
"It's a loss for Morrisville," Mihok said of her friend's death.
Gema Maria Duarte can be reached at 215-949-4195 or gduarte@phillyBurbs.com. Follow Gema on Twitter at twitter.com/deadlineduarte.
January 23, 2011 02:41 AM
