The following article appeared in the Orange County Register on August 31, 2002

Cancer patient was full of spirit

Vi Rieck was honored for her inspiration and admired for her fortitude.

By RACHANEE SRISAVASDI
The Orange County Register

Vi Rieck once said she never missed a beat.

Despite having breast cancer, the Huntington Beach resident refused to let the disease ruin her life. Instead, she fought back.

“Nothing was going to get her down, not even cancer,” said her son, Gordon Rieck, 37, of La Mirada. “She used to joke, as long as she was vertical, it was a good day.”

Rieck, surrounded by her family and close friends, died of pneumonia and cancer Wednesday night at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach. She was 69.

Rieck, originally from Dearborn, Mich., moved to Huntington Beach in 1964 with her husband, Charles, an electrical engineer. Rieck worked for her husband, who was also a lawyer. He died in 1993.

Gordon Rieck said his mother focused on helping other people instead of her own needs after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1990.

“Volunteering made her feel good in her soul and her heart,” he said. “She tried to make other people’s lives full.”

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation recognized Rieck in 2000 as Orange County’s Most Inspirational Breast Cancer Survivor.

She was actively involved in several cancer organizations, including the American Cancer Society, National Breast Cancer Coalition and Y-ME of Orange County.

She also worked with a breast cancer support group at Hoag Hospital.

Jane Hill, 51, met Rieck through the support group and said Rieck was always lifting other people’s spirits, persuading them to fight the disease. Rieck would arm the group with information on the latest cancer research, often bringing medical journals and articles.

Hill said Rieck always thought of others first, often filling vases with her homegrown organic flowers and giving them to patients. She also handed out cartoons and inspirational sayings - anything to lift spirits.

“She wasn’t ever going to give up,” Hill said. “She was our fighter.”

Rieck sang with Celebration of Life Singers in Garden Grove, whose members included those with cancer or whose lives have been touched by the disease. She encouraged a neighbor, T.J. England, who was diagnosed with cancer, to jump in.

“She took so much joy from the music, you could just see it on her face,” England said.

Rieck even took part in the choir’s June 30 concert while she was undergoing chemotherapy. Though she looked more tired and frail, Rieck didn’t complain. It was characteristic of Rieck to focus on the positive, England said.

“She would always make me stop feeling sorry for myself. She made me want to do something about (the cancer),” said England, who volunteers at a hospice.

Rieck’s slogan was “March on!” and Gordon Rieck said he can see his mother in heaven, marching to her own beat.

Vi May Rieck

Born: June 29, 1933, Dearborn, Mich.

Died: Aug. 28, 2002, Newport Beach

Survivors: Daughter, Renee Rieck; sons, Charles, Fredrick and Gordon Rieck

Donations: Hoag Cancer Center (in memory of Vi Rieck), 1 Hoag Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92658