Anabel Mariko Stenzel passed away on September 22, surrounded by family and friends, after a defiant fight against small intestinal cancer. Her cancer concluded a lifelong journey with cystic fibrosis (CF), which led her to receive two double-lung transplants and abdominal surgeries.
Ana was born on January 8, 1972, in Hollywood and raised in Pacific Palisades, where the Stenzel family lived on Almar Avenue for 40 years. Like her twin sister and her brother, she was educated at Marquez, Paul Revere and Palisades High School. Her father was a UCLA professor and her mother a licensed clinical social worker at Kaiser Hospital. Ana was bi-cultural, Caucasian and Japanese.
After graduating from high school, Ana studied human biology at Stanford University. She continued graduate studies at UC Berkeley and received a Master’s degree in genetic counseling. Ana enjoyed a successful 16-year career as genetic counselor at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.
Ana grew up keenly aware of her shortened life due to CF. She was profoundly grateful for her second chances with lung transplants. She lived each day with intention, determination, focus, edginess, a wry humor, and love. She loved swimming, dogs, the outdoors, large plates of food, her friends, and the Indigo Girls. She had a roller-coaster life with times of greatest happiness when in good health and times of deepest despair about failing health. Some of it has been described in an earlier article published in the Palisadian-Post (www.palisadespost.com/sports/breathing-in-a-new-life/).
Following her first transplant 13 years ago, Ana “lived as if her donor was watching,” traveling and hiking extensively around the world, and winning over 20 medals as a Transplant Games athlete. She enjoyed climbing Sierra peaks, skiing, swimming, biking, running, hang gliding and rock climbing, and zumba dancing with friends. For many years she joined CF camps, which provided understanding, love and sharing.
Ana published her memoir with her twin sister, “The Power of Two,” and held a successful book signing at Village Books in the Palisades in January 2008. The book was also published in Japanese. She gave many interviews in the U.S. and Japan, where she lived for one year. Ana supported numerous charities that focused on people with CF and organ transplantation. She starred in the documentary film, “The Power Of Two.” She received many awards for promoting organ donations and CF research. In the last 20 years she came often to the Palisades to visit her high school friends, parents and teachers.
Ana is survived by Trent Wallace, her husband of three years; Isabel, her twin sister; Ryuta, her brother; Hatsuko and Reiner, her parents; two revered organ donor families and incalculable friends, supporters and fans. As she wished, Ana donated her corneas to give the gift of sight to others.
A celebration of life service will be held at Valley Presbyterian Church in Portola Valley on Saturday, October 26at 2 p.m. Additionally, a memorial concert is also being planned.
A fund has been set up in Ana’s memory. Donations will be used for an unmet need in CF-related gastrointestinal oncology research at UC San Francisco. Make checks payable to UCSF (writing “GI Oncology Research in Memory of Anabel Stenzel” on the memo line) and send to UCSF c/o S. Krumholz, P.O. Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145-0339. Or donate online at makeagift.ucsf.edu. Designate “Other” and type in GI Oncology Research, then select “Gift is in memory of Anabel Stenzel.” Donations to Cystic Fibrosis Research, Inc. and California Transplant Donor Network are also welcome.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
