Dr. Rebecca Lea Calderon

November 1, 1955 - December 21, 2008
Doctor Rebecca Lea Calderon died peacefully at home on Sunday afternoon, December 21, 2008 after an 18-month struggle with lung cancer.
She is survived by her husband of 21 years, Captain Douglas B. Guthe, Jr. USN (ret); their three children, Lea, David and Klara Calderon-Guthe; parents, Haim and Wanda Calderon of Colorado Springs, CO; sister, Edye Calderon of Laughton, OK; brother and his wife and their three children, Jack and Bobbi Calderon, Nick and Josh Jerkovich and Matt Calderon, all of Council Bluffs, IA.
Rebecca was born in Cheyenne, WY, but she spent her school-age years in Casper, WY where she graduated from Midwest High School in 1973. After she graduated, her family moved to Keokuk, IA and she attended the University of Iowa, receiving a B.S. in microbiology in 1977. Rebecca pursued her passion for science and continued her education at the University of Rhode Island, where she received her M.S. in microbiology in 1979, and at Yale University, where she earned her MPH in infectious disease in 1981 and her Ph.D. in environmental epidemiology in 1986. Shortly before she graduated from Yale, Rebecca met Doug, who at the time was a LCDR stationed aboard a nuclear submarine in New London, CT. They were married in 1987 and in 1989 they had their first child. For six years Rebecca's career jumped around the country following her husband's assignments, but in 1995 they settled in Chapel Hill, NC where Doug retired from the Navy in 2000.
Rebecca began working for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1989 as an epidemiologist for the Office of Health Research, moving to the Epidemiology & Biomarkers Branch in 1992 and becoming the chief of that branch in 1996. In 2004 she was appointed director of the Human Studies Division of the National Health & Environmental Effects Research Laboratory for the EPA. She excelled in her position as director until her health forced her to go on medical leave in 2007. Over the course of her career, Rebecca contributed to more than 52 scientific papers and more than 17 books and book chapters. She received several awards as well, including the EPA's Diversity Leadership Award in 2001 and the EPA's Gold Medal for a Report on the Environment, Technical Document in 2004. Rebecca was just as successful with her family as she was with her career. She emphasized the importance of family, education and kindness, and she raised three beautiful, intelligent children, always telling them how proud of them she was. She was a robust woman with strong opinions and an even stronger heart, and she fiercely loved both the family she came from and the family she made. She enjoyed Celtic music, Barry Manilow, old musicals, Scottish castles, romance novels, Earl Grey tea, trying new recipes, traveling with the people she loved and watching movies with her family. She is already terribly missed, but the strength of her spirit, especially during her last few weeks, lives on.
A visitation will be held at Walker's Funeral Home from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at 120 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill on Saturday, December 27, 2008, followed by a memorial gathering from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Carolina Inn, 211 Pittsboro Street, Chapel Hill. She will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery following a 3:00 p.m. service at the Old Post Chapel at Fort Meyers in Arlington, VA on Friday, February 6, 2009.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center for research into better treatment and a cure for lung cancer in women who have never smoked.
http://cancer.med.unc.edu/gift/memorialgif t.asp