Cancer victim wrote book for fellow patients

7/31/2008

LIBERTY CENTER, Ohio - Leslie Ann Droll, 53, human relations manager for a Findlay business who wrote a book for cancer patients, died Sunday in Bridge Hospice Care Center, Findlay.

She learned early this month that cancer had been found in her liver and lungs. She had breast cancer at age 39 and, after treatment, was in remission until about 3 1/2 years ago, when cancer was discovered in her spine, her daughter Dana Robinson said.

"She's been on at least 12 different types of treatment," her daughter said. "She always said if there was a treatment she could take, she'd take it.

"She was such an inspiration to everyone. She just felt that life was a gift, and every day extra she got was a blessing, and she completely lived that way," her daughter said.

Mrs. Droll wrote a book, When You Get It, subtitled, "A book of poetry, inspiration, and lessons learned from a battle with cancer."

The book was published with the help of nephew Kent Babb. Copies were distributed to hospitals and doctors' offices.

She wanted to convey the lessons she learned, her daughter said, and to "show them that there is hope out there, and there's a way to live with cancer, not just die from it."

Mrs. Droll was human resources manager for Cascade Corp. in Findlay, where she worked since 1992.

She worked at the RCA Corp. plant in Findlay and, later, was an inspector hired by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory when the plant was producing components for the Hubble Space Telescope.

And for more than 25 years, she was bookkeeper for Droll Refrigeration Service in Fostoria, which was begun by her father-in-law and is run by her husband, Michael.

She was a torch bearer when the Olympic torch passed through Ohio in 2002.

She was a 1973 graduate of Findlay High School and attended Owens Community College and the University of Findlay.

Surviving are her husband, Michael, whom she married Sept. 22, 1973; daughters, Dana Robinson and Angela Dessausure; sister, Kathy Bonham; brother, James Simpson, and three granddaughters.

Services will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow in the Hoening Funeral Home, Fostoria, where visitation will from 2 to 9 p.m. today.

The family suggests tributes to Cancer Patient Services in Findlay or Bridge Hospice in Findlay.