Former Geneva health, fitness advocate dies of pancreatic cancer

GENEVA – Former Geneva resident Vicky Waterman, who advocated exercise for health, taught fitness classes and raised money for cancer charities, died Sept. 23 of pancreatic cancer in Naples, Fla. She was 62.

Waterman had her breasts and ovaries removed at age 49 because she had the BRCA 1 gene that causes breast and ovarian cancer. She sold her fitness studio in Geneva in 2016 and moved to Naples, where she continued teaching. In May 2021, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer – also caused by the BRCA 1 gene.

In April, while still undergoing chemotherapy, Waterman hosted Sweat for the Cure at the St. Charles Park District, an exercise class and fundraiser for LivingWell Cancer Resource Center in Geneva, and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

The next day, she participated in PanCan PurpleStride at Soldier Field, to help fund its work for earlier diagnosis, better treatment and a cure for pancreatic cancer.

“It’s everyone’s loss,” said David, her husband of 36 years. “She touched everyone, both figuratively and literally.”

Waterman was given three months to live, but survived 15 months, her husband said.

“We were talking about her condition and everyone was, of course, praying for a miracle and medical science to take over,” David said. “At the end, she was really compromised. She said – and I’ll never forget this: ‘Maybe my miracle is not tomorrow but 12 months of yesterdays.’ So profound.”

Waterman was known for her energy, a woman constantly in motion and encouraging exercise and fitness same in others for the sake of their health.

The last weeks of her life were in bed, where she was resigned to resting, David said.

“Her DNA was built on movement and dance,” her husband said. “When that was taken away, it really really hurt her. … I told her children their mother was alive, but not living.”

Jennifer Turcich, Waterman’s best friend and business partner in a company called Wearable Weights in Geneva, said Waterman’s “energy and love were boundless.”

“People just loved being around her. It’s also what made people fall in love with themselves again,” Turcich said, who lives in Naples and Geneva. “In her teachings, people were becoming stronger and more confident. … She had that exponential ripple effect.”

But even when she wasn’t teaching an exercise class, Waterman’s connection with everyday people – even for a few minutes – was extraordinary.

“Maybe it was the Uber driver, or the bank teller,” Turcich said. “She had this energy and feeling of happiness that would change people’s days. … She took the time to care about every single person.”

One thing Waterman did not show publicly was her pain from the cancer.

“I used to wrap her every morning in a weight compression band so she could contain the pain and reduce movement in that area … because of the distention in her middle and abdominal cavity,” her husband said. “I would wrap it as tight as humanly possible. And she went out the door. And who’s to know?”

But of all the medications she had, nothing dented the pain, he said, yet she never complained.

“Fentanyl patches, morphine, Tramadol, Dilaudid … those created side effects of nausea, headaches … and none of it worked,” her husband said. “She was in excruciating pain for a long time.”

It was shortly after her fundraising walk for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network at the end of April that her condition really began to deteriorate, David said.

“We had planned a trip to Europe, but it was a bridge too far,” her husband said. “When I canceled, it broke her heart. ‘I thought I would beat this thing.’ … That was her belief. … But that was impossible. No one had ever done that.”

Her husband said he thinks of his wife’s life as the bright colors of spilled paint swirled together.

“It’s beautiful and creative, yet has a formality to it and a structure to it,” David said. “This is the way I saw her. Her creativity was a virtue. She was the most virtuous woman I will ever meet.”

According to her obituary, Waterman’s funeral in Naples was private. Memorial donations can be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.