(May 4, 2012) AURORA - The group of four students nicknamed her "Gigi." They hoped to catch the essence of a woman not quite old enough to be a grandmother in life, but who in death became "a grandmother figure to each of us," physician assistant student Luke Swank said.
In a letter he wrote to "Gigi," he thanked her for the gift of her cancer.
"How in the world would cancer ever be a legitimate gift?" he asked. "I've had family members and close friends die of cancer ... You have shown me what people with cancer go through. It has given me so much more sympathy."
Swank was one of four health care students at the annual Anatomical Donor Memorial Ceremony to share his thoughts with families whose loved ones donated their body to medical science. But many more students were in the crowd of a couple hundred to show their gratitude Friday night. When Swank asked health care students to stand, more than two-thirds of the crowd rose.
"Well, I expected to be thanked, but I didn't expect this," one woman said laughing as she looked at the crowd. 
Physical therapy student Corbyn Wierzbinski told the audience that she was humbled by the fact that she was "the last human interaction that (the donor) would ever have." Grateful for the knowledge she gained from her anatomy classes, Wierzbinski said she has decided to become a body donor as well.
Family members spoke, too, and one woman told a story of how she came to the same decision.
She recalled studying foreign languages in 1955 at University of Virginia, where her husband was a graduate student. After seeing a picture in a text book of the anatomy of the vocal cords, she went to the medical school to see the real thing.
"I remember the professor apologized for state of the cadaver," she said. He told her that bodies were important for learning but were hard to come by.
"I was so impressed that in 1955 my husband George and I decided that (body donation) was the sensible thing to do. So no matter where we lived, we always made sure we signed up with the state anatomical board."
One man remembered his mother, "a vibrant redhead who could stop traffic," and who loved the medical profession.
"So if you had someone with two replaced knees and a mastectomy," he told students, "picture her with bright green eyes."
Many talked of the long-lasting gift of the donation.
"My parents live on from the knowledge you have gained from them," said one woman whose parents both donated their remains.
Another woman said her mother moved all over the country during her life, "but for some reason she didn't want to finish the journey. Thank you for letting her continue her journey."
Medical student Alexander Connelly summed up the legacy of body donors.
"There are no words to adequately convey the profound, lifelong impact that their contribution has had and will continue to have on our lives, and we are proud and honored to carry with us the lessons that they have taught us."