Raised money for amyloidosis research
In a September 2016 PostGazette article about patients fighting the rare disease amyloidosis, Darcy B. Tannehill promised: “I am not going to go down easy.” And she didn’t. After more than six years of fighting the same incurable condition that took the lives of the late Pittsburgh Mayor Richard S. Caliguiri and the late Gov. Robert P. Casey, a bone marrow transplant and 12 rounds of chemotherapy, Ms. Tannehill lost her battle with the disease April 21. She was 59.
The South Fayette resident, who worked as an education professor and administrator at Robert Morris University, made it her mission to raise awareness and funding to fight amyloidosis. The disease is caused when an abnormal protein called amyloid builds up in tissues and organs, leading to organ failure.
“I can’t help but admire the fact that in the last six years of her life that she created such a legacy. She did it with sheer determination,” said Maryellen Kelly, a friend and former colleague who pointed to the $90,000 raised by Ms. Tannehill through annual fundraisers for the Pittsburgh Amyloidosis Research Benefit.
A third annual fundraiser for the organization is planned for Oct. 26 and will honor Ms. Tannehill’s memory.
Ms. Tannehill was active in patient support and served as a board member for the national Amyloidosis Foundation.
Last year she also made a $50,000 donation to create the Dr. Darcy B. Tannehill Amyloidosis Research and Education Fund through the Department of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine.
Ms. Tannehill’s impact was unprecedented in the momentum and interest it generated for research, said Jim Olsen, gift officer at Pittsburgh’s Medical and Health Sciences Foundation.
“She single-handedly made a tremendous difference in a short amount of time,” said Mr. Olsen, who added that her gift allowed researchers more freedom to explore new treatments.
“She had a lot of impact just in the brief time I knew her,” he said. “It’s hard to think about this without feeling really sad — that we didn’t have the opportunity to work together longer. She had tremendous talent.”
Born in McDonald, Darcy Bartins graduated from West Allegheny High School in 1976 and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from Duquesne University in 1978. In 1986, she earned a master’s degree in education from Duquesne and a doctorate degree in education and higher education management from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009.
Ms. Tannehill worked for 15 years as an administrator for RMU before leaving in 2005 to serve as vice president of Argosy University, which at the time was owned by by Pittsburgh-based Education Management Corp. In 2007, she was named president of the online campus of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
In 2010, Ms. Tannehill rejoined RMU, where she taught and served as an administrator for the school’s online and off-campus programs.
“She had a passion for non-traditional students and adult learners and she dedicated her career to those two populations,” said Ms. Tannehill’s son-in-law Adam Sullivan of South Fayette.
Darcy Bartins met Norman B. Tannehill Jr. during her first stint at RMU. She and Mr. Tannehill, a computer science professor, married on Valentine’s Day 1991 and spent a happy life together until his death in 2009, Mr. Sullivan said.
“She and Norm were very avid animal people,” Mr. Sullivan said. “They believed in rescuing dogs over buying them, and they had a real love for Shelties.”
Over the years, the couple rescued 12 of them through Northern Virginia Sheltie Rescue.
“She was selfless and caring and always put everyone ahead of herself,” Mr. Sullivan said of his mother-inlaw. “She once rescued a 15year-old dog just so she could live out her final days in a happy place.”
But, Ms. Tannehill had no greater passion in life than her granddaughter, Alaina Sullivan. When Ms. Tannehill went through a painful stem cell transplant in 2012, she still found the strength to hold her granddaughter, who was then a baby, Mr. Sullivan said.
“She couldn’t even walk, but yet she still found the energy to bounce and hold her,” he remembered. “What makes me the most depressed is that she will not be able to spend any more time with Alaina. That’s crushing to me, because they had a special bond.”
“That child was the light of her life,” Ms. Kelly said. “The doctors initially gave her six months — she lived six years and Alaina had a lot to do with that. She spent a lot of time making memories with her.”
One of the reasons Ms. Tannehill fought so hard for awareness and treatments was because it took doctors six years to diagnose her, chiefly because the wide array of symptoms are often misdiagnosed. She wanted to spare others the same agony, her friends and family said.
They plan to continue her annual fundraiser, which will be chaired this year by Ms. Tannehill’s daughter, Courtney Sullivan.
“It’s a challenge to find interest and funding for such a rare disease,” said Ms. Kelly, who added that her friend would want to be remembered as a “persistent warrior with a loving heart.”
Ms. Tannehill never stopped seeking a cure, even in her last days.
Mr. Sullivan said she drove to New Jersey two days before she died to record an interview then drove herself home the next day.
“She would want people to celebrate what she accomplished, and most importantly, she would want us to continue to fight for a cure,” he said. “She was selfless to the end.”
The family suggests memorial contributions to the Northern Virginia Sheltie Rescue (http:// www.nvsr.org) or to the national Amyloidosis Foundation (http://www.amyloidosis.org).