Dear Lions,

The following is a partial copy of a note received recently from DG Jeannine Windels (5M11)

Our beautiful, talented, fun loving daughter-in-law "Pastor Nancy" has recently been diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer. (Non-small cell lung cancer, the most likely type to strike non-smoking younger women, already at Stage 3B-Stage 4 level of progression.) Nancy will be 48 later this month; she is married to our oldest son Bob, and they have three daughters, 17, 19 and 20. She is an associate pastor at Normandale Lutheran Church in Edina; Bob is youth director at Gethsemane Lutheran in Hopkins; and they live in Eden Prairie.
 
Nancy started chemo Tuesday in a clinical trial at the Mayo Clinic -- the survival rate for lung cancer this advanced is low but the hope is that the chemo will give her some more quality time. As a pastor, she has ministered to many people in similar situations. Nancy has a very strong faith and is fully prepared for what lies ahead. She has the love and support of not only her family and friends, but the congregations of both churches and so many others whose lives she has touched.

We ask that you keep Nancy and our whole family in your thoughts and prayers in the months ahead. And in Nancy's own words: "Please hold your loved ones and cherish every moment, for we are so poignantly aware of how precious this present is."