Tanya Williams' Obituary
The beautiful and brilliant Tanya Lynn Williams was born in Big Springs, Texas on Dec 8, 1970. She grew up in Clearwater, Kansas with father Lawrence Robert (Bob), mother Mary, and sister Monica. Her love for science was fostered by night time excursions with her father to gaze at the heavens with their telescope. After fiercely battling metastatic breast cancer for many years, Tanya was taken from us much too soon, and is survived by her husband David Freed and 7 year old son Drake Freed. Words cannot describe how much she will be missed. Tanya began her formal education at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, initially majoring in architecture but quickly succumbing to her inner scientist and switching to the biological sciences. She excelled in her studies and was motivated by her faculty mentors to pursue an advanced degree. In 1994 she finished her B.S. Double in Chemistry and Biochemistry and began her graduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The same year she met her future husband David, another MIT graduate student, and they were partners in love and life ever after. Tanya opted to pursue biochemistry to satisfy her need to understand how biological processes work at the molecular level. After completing several scientific publications and her dissertation on DNA transposition, Tanya received her PhD from MIT in 2002. Tanya and David then relocated to the lovely San Francisco Bay Area where Tanya started her post-doctoral research position at the University of California, San Francisco. In the ensuing years as a post-doc and eventually a staff scientist in Elizabeth Blackburn's lab studying telomeres, it became evident that Tanya was not only a talented and passionate scientist but also a skilled technical writer and communicator. In addition to designing and carrying out experiments and analyses to support her research interests, and publishing her results in respected scientific journals, Tanya applied her clear thinking and writing skills to assist with key grant proposals for her lab. As a long-time lab member she became a relied upon reviewer and mentor, and fostered great professional and personal relationships with her colleagues, including her advisor, Professor Blackburn, recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. As much as she was a passionate and dedicated scientist, Tanya discovered a new dimension of love and devotion when her son Drake came into the world in 2005. Tanya embraced motherhood and found ways to balance it with her career, always putting family first but excelling in her work nonetheless. Tanya became deeply passionate about education, and eventually parleyed her talents into supporting Drake's school as a parent volunteer. This included preparing and leading weekly science experiments in Drake's classes during her final years. Tanya became known and loved as the 'science lady' at Brisbane Elementary School, and also worked on education grants to help with financial support. Tanya enjoyed the time with the kids immensely, they adored her, and Drake was so proud to have Mom making science fun for everyone. While still a young mother and ambitious scientist, Tanya was diagnosed with metastatic disease in the summer of 2007. For 5 ½ years, Tanya overcome the fear and physical challenges of her disease and associated treatments to lead an active life full of love, achievements, and adventure. She loved nature and the outdoors, hiking and camping, wildlife viewing, and environmental conservationism. She loved reading, especially science fiction and fantasy but also just stories about the human condition. She loved art and anything that was unique, special, out of the ordinary. Most of all she loved sharing these with family and friends. Tanya was caring and generous, a loyal friend, easy to be around. Tanya loved to cook and invented delicious and nutritious recipes to manage her son's food allergies. Tanya knew how to listen, how to empathize, how to connect. Tanya was sharp as a tack, brilliant but never arrogant. Tanya loved being a mom. Tanya was a ray of sunlight streaming through the clouds. Tanya faced her condition and everything in life with dignity, grace, and courage. On December 13, 2012, we lost an incomparable, beautiful person inside and out. She died peacefully in her home, surrounded by her family and cherished friends. Tanya departed much too early, but her spirit lives on in our hearts and she will never be forgotten. A memorial ceremony for Tanya will be held at 10:00am on December 20, 2012. Flowers may be sent to Skylawn Funeral Home and Memorial Park or can be arranged by calling Blossoms (650.376.5070).
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