Geena May Texas 4000

My dad’s mom, who goes by Judy, passed away from her second battle against breast cancer this past March. The first time she was diagnosed, I was too young to realize how serious it was. I knew that she wore a wig because she was sick and her hair would fall out, but I didn’t realize how close she actually was to death. I am eternally grateful of how strong she fought because her will power gave me countless more years and memories with her! Over her years in remission, I was able to grow closer to my grandma and began to understand all of the saint-like qualities that she truly embodied. She was the glue that held my dad’s side of the family and many others together because she cared about the wellbeing of each and every person that she ever interacted with! There has not been a time that I can remember where she did not have someone living in her house because they were in a time of need. She treated each and every grandchild and great grandchild as if they were the most important person in the world. All of my cousins will agree that each adventure that she took us on were one in a million. She always stayed so positive, even when in times of distress. I remember one time when we flew to Disney world, this guy with a ton of cardboard boxes cut in front of us on the escalator at the airport and then dropped them all at the bottom. Unfortunately my grandma fell over them onto the metal grates at the bottom of the escalator. Even though her entire leg was one big black and blue mark and she was apparently millimeters away from shattering her knee, she never let that deter her from making sure that we had an amazing time at Disney world. She was able to get an electric wheelchair and ride around the park with us. She used it as an advantage to go in the handicap line on the rides and she never held us back. In the end I think it was more fun and gave us some great stories to tell. We also found out that she should never ride in an electric wheelchair again because she ran over my foot with it and also off a curb, almost crashing into a kiosk. Lesson learned.

I wish I could mention all of the amazing memories that I had with my grandma, but that would take pages and pages. Because she was such an integral part in my life, I am dedicating day 6 and day 70 to her. I am dedicating day 70 to her because she had an amazing sense of adventure, and what a better day to dedicate to her then the completion of my ride across the continent. I dedicate day 6 to her because it will be my birthday, and although she won’t be able to see me transition out of my teenage years, I want to feel as close to her as I can on this day.

Even though the glue to our family is now missing, we will still hold strong because of the lasting impact that my grandma had on all of us and the traits that she has passed on to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She will always have a very special place in my heart.

Mr. Cline is the sole reason that I am studying mechanical engineering at UT Austin. He was not just a teacher and a robotics club sponsor, but he was a mentor and a huge motivator. He supported my engineering efforts even when I failed, and was never hesitant to go the extra mile to make sure that I could bring my imagination to life. When I took Mr. Cline’s STEM Engineering class my senior year of high school, one of our projects was to build a gumball machine. My partner and I wanted to make a 3D snowman machine, but we were stumped because bending acrylic into a perfect circle would prove to be very difficult and turn out very uneven. Mr. Cline, didn’t want us to give up on our idea, so he went ahead and bought 3 different sizes of acrylic tubes so we could build our snowman. The catch was that he had to order a minimum of 6 feet of each diameter of the acrylic tubes even though we only needed four inches of each. Mr. Cline ordered it anyways, just so we could make our snowman. It is acts of kindness like these that made Mr. Cline so special. He didn’t have to order 18 feet of acrylic for our snowman gumball machine, but he did it anyways because he wanted us to succeed. Now, my snowman machine sits proudly on my desk as a constant reminder of the dedication that Mr. Cline had for motivating students like me.

Mr. Cline left this world after a long, hard battle with colon cancer in the spring of 2014. This took a huge toll on both the JMHS Robotics Club, and James Madison High School as a whole. Anyone who took Mr. Cline’s classes or was a part of the robotics club will tell you that Mr. Cline is probably one of the best teachers to ever pass through James Madison High School. He never got mad, no matter how annoying the class might be, and he never stopped motivating kids in the STEM field, even when his body was telling him to rest. I could not think of any better way to continue his enthusiasm about engineering then by studying engineering so I can inspire young people just like he did.

Words from his wife:

My mom’s mother, Marge passed away when I was two of ovarian cancer. I do not have many memories with her except the stories that my mom tells. She is constantly reminding me of the compassion and heart that my grandma had and that she sees my grandma in some many aspects of my siblings and myself.

Words from Rickie Reis:

Marge, was a warm, kind woman and I think of her often.  I first met her when she was a baby just off the boat from Germany.  We lived near each other as children and I still remember feeling sorry for her because Uncle Ernst and Tante Trude brought enough German clothing with them  to last her for a long time.  At the age of eight, I was nothing but proud to be an American and anything German (as you can imagine) was an embarassment.  I was eight years older and got a kick out of the fact that I was actually twice her age when I turned 16.  Aaah memories!

Words from my Grandpa Schreiber:

My wife, Marge was a very special person. She had tremendous warmth and patience in raising a beautiful family of three children; one of whom is Geena’s mother. She always had a place in her heart for all of her children and grandchildren and they in turn reciprocated with love. She came to the U.S. as an infant and celebrated her first birthday in New York Harbor. She grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City where she lived when I met her. We were married three years later and had two children while living in Brooklyn, NY. She set an example for the family members by being compassionate and understanding for other people’s needs and was always there in both good and bad times. We had a wonderful life together of almost 40 years. The last three plus years are during the time that she was dealing with ovarian cancer. Marge was willing to try every known therapy in order to defeat the cancer. However, there was always time to devote to her children and grandchildren as well as the friends and neighbors. One of her major assets was her listening ability, and as such, many people confided in her. I look at my three married children, seven grandchildren and always think of her and the light that she put into my and their lives. I miss her dearly and think of her continually.

Words from my Aunt, Susan Cadel:

My mom, Marge Schreiber, lived for her family and friends. She was a devoted wife, mother, sister in- law, daughter, cousin, aunt, daughter in law and friend. But I believe she felt the greatest pleasure in being a grandmother. No one ever called her grandmother. It was Grandma. She like to refer to her grandchildren as her chickadees. Mom used to joke that she wanted a good return on her investment. What she mean was that she had 3 children and she wanted more than 3 grandchildren. Mom had a good return on investment. She was alive for and participated in the birth of 5 grandchildren. She so desperately want to be alive for the birth of Geena. In spite of undergoing extremely painful cancer treatment, Mom was alive and kicking when Geena was born kicking in June 1996. These pictures are a happy grandma and her newest grandchild, Geena. I know that Mom would be so proud of Geena and the commitment Geena is making to make a difference in battling cancer. I know in my heart and soul that Mom would have loved the additional two grandchildren she didn’t get to meet. Eric, the youngest grandchild of the Schribe Tribe (as we affectionately call ourselves) will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah on the day that Geena departs for Alaska, on June 4, 2016. While he never got to meet his paternal Grandma, she would be so proud of Eric. And she would have so proud of her other 6 grandchildren B’nai  Mitzvahs who came before Eric. Mom and Dad made sure they were a part integral part of the family tree, no matter the distance. They hopped in the car and drove to every event or just to stay in touch. When it was too far to drive, which is over 1,000 miles, they flew. Mom organized a reunion of her Rosenwald cousins in September 1997. It was clear that she was too weak to travel far in September 1997 so she planned the Rosenwald Reunion in Virginia. She was already bedridden by  this stage. But she was determined to see her relatives with all the charm and grace that she always exuded. Dad enlisted the help of friends who were volunteer firefighters and EMTs. They moved Mom from her second story bedroom into Dad’s car. A weekend with her cousins, kids, gran children and husband was a memory we all fondly remember. Please note in the picture, all the young children had on Rosenwald Cousin Reunion t-shirts. She was so happy to be surround by family. Five days later she passed away. Another victim of cancer.  Marge Schreiber’s memory is a blessing.

I physically ride for my cousin Richard, which is why I chose to dedicate day one to him. Richard was an avid biker and I always hoped to be able to bike with as much endurance and passion as him one day. I hoped that I would get to ride with him, but unfortunately, Richard passed away in 2012 from a hard battle with lung cancer. The worst part is that he never smoked, so by the time that the doctors figured out that it was cancer, it was already too far along. I plan to honor my love for him by riding to Alaska and I hope that somewhere he is watching and will be so proud of my accomplishment. My family tells me that I am crazy for wanting to bike to Alaska, but I know that Richard would have wanted to hop on a bike and join me!

What I miss most about Richard is our weekend brunches with in Georgetown. There was this little restaurant in Georgetown that has the best croissants and a couple times a year, my mom, Richard and I would go and eat there for brunch. Then we would walk across the street right afterwards to the best ice cream and fudge place around, even though it was usually before noon still! We would often hang out at Richard’s apartment afterwards and talk. I miss Richard’s kindness and will power and I aim to carry that along with me through life.

Words from David Sperling, Richard’s brother: