April 20, 2003 – Three years ago, at the age of 67, Vivien De Angelo was diagnosed with advanced (Stage IV) lung cancer, despite never having been a smoker; and the doctors treating her said she had better get her affairs in order.
Based on what they were seeing of the cancer in her lungs, the doctors estimated that De Angelo had only three months left to live. What they did not know, however, was that:
No. 1 – De Angelo is a fighter, and a born-again Christian married to an evangelical minister, the Rev. Joseph De Angelo, an assistant pastor at the International Christian Center in Staten Island, New York.
And No. 2 – Among De Angelo's family, friends and church congregation, there were literally thousands of people praying for her; she was determined to beat the cancer and refused to let it conquer her.
De Angelo had always done her best to stay fit, and 10 years ago, at age 60, she decided to take up inline skating and bought her first pair of Rollerblades during a vacation trip to Florida. She had ice-skated since childhood and was thrilled that her new inline skates would enable her to skate outdoors year 'round.
She quickly took command of her new hobby and could soon be seen skating all around the streets and parks of her Staten Island neighborhood. She enjoyed the new sport so much, in fact, that she enthusiastically taught it to her three adult children, and eventually to her four grandchildren, too.
With such an active lifestyle, it came as a huge shock to De Angelo and her entire family when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. But De Angelo — with her faith and trust in God and the help of a skilled and compassionate oncologist, Dr. Howard W. Bruckner of the Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York — is still in there fighting three birthdays later. And she is still Rollerblading, too.
For the occasion of her 70th birthday, De Angelo's husband and children felt that the best way to mark this milestone — and her triumph over cancer — would be to have a multi-generational family "Rollerblade Party." Sons Alan and Rob arranged to join in with their families from Maryland and Tennessee, respectively, for the big day. Daughter Rena and her husband reside near De Angelo on Staten Island and coordinated the details.
The event was booked for Saturday at the Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers in Midtown Manhattan. With De Angelo looking forward to leading the crowd around the popular rink, the Rollerblade Co. heard about her brave battle with cancer and donated new skates and protective gear for her, as well as T-shirts for the entire family to wear during this skating celebration.

Editor's note: Vivien De Angelo lived on St. Thomas in 1966-68, when she was Vivien Micklewright and worked as secretary to attorney Edith Bornn. She was a founding member of the League of Women Voters of the V.I. Barry Micklewright, a freelance writer in Oceanside, California, resided on St. Thomas from 1966 until 1992, when he retired as director of cruise ship activities with the Division of Tourism.

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