Margaret Turner loved playing cards, making friends laugh and giving time and help to anyone in need.
To the students at the Commonwealth Medical College, she gave herself.
For 11 months, Mrs. Turner fought cancer that spread to her lungs, liver and brain. Before the Shickshinny resident died in 2010 at the age of 79, she decided to give her body to medical research.
The lives of Mrs. Turner and 19 other donors were honored Thursday at a celebration at the medical college, where students sang, read poems and met donors' families. The yearly event is organized by first-year students, who spend hours in the anatomy lab - one of the first experiences of medical school.
Studying a human body gives students a "striking message of mortality," said Steven J. Scheinman, M.D., the school's president and dean. "Our cadavers teach us more than just anatomy."
On the first day in the lab, students form a circle and hold hands, thinking about what they will soon do, said Patrick Coughlin, Ph.D., anatomy professor. The cadavers, sometimes referred to as students' "first patients," help students develop the spirit of inquiry, he said.
First-year student Vincent Giannotti said the experience in the lab will surely make him a better physician.
"It's just not something you can learn in a textbook," he said. "We feel so humbled to have had this opportunity."
During Thursday's event, students gave family members engraved picture frames and expressed gratitude for the chance to learn from the deceased.
Student Hannah Canty played the harp, while Sid Facaros and Stephen Martinkovich lit candles. Many family members wiped tears from their eyes.
Student Aleksandra Kuczmarska read the poem "The Ripple Effect" by Sharon Jordan.
"One life can touch those ... whom she or he never knew," Ms. Kuczmarska said.
Mrs. Turner's daughter, Tami Blair, and granddaughter, Julie Blair, attended the ceremony. They took pride in knowing their mom and grandmother made an impact on the education of TCMC students.
"She did a noble thing," her granddaughter said as she clasped a necklace holding a portion of her grandmother's ashes.
Both Julie, 21, and Tami Blair, 50, have decided to donate their bodies.
"It's such a great gift," Tami Blair said.
Theodore A. Dear Sr., of Palmerton, died in 2011 at the age of 71. His widow, Diane Dear, and daughter, Kimberly Dear-Baker, attended Thursday's ceremony.
Mrs. Dear said she was touched by the respect shown for her husband. She has made the decision that one day, students will also be studying her body.
"It's our way of giving back," Mrs. Dear said.
For more information on body donation, visit the Humanity Gifts Registry website at hgrpa.com.
Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com, @hofiushallTT on Twitter