For Anita Webb, an extraordinary amateur athlete with an insatiable appetite for fresh challenges, breast cancer was a threat to her lifestyle as well as her life.

When the Bala Cynwyd resident was diagnosed two years ago, at age 61, she had to interrupt training in her newest passion - the flying trapeze. And 11 weeks ago, when she learned the disease had spread to other organs, she had to scrap a Rocky Mountain skiing trip.

But somehow, she maintained an infectious sense of joy and optimism that inspired her many friends. She died Saturday at age 63 at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

"She was the most positive person with the most positive disposition," said Karen Strabel, a Chicago friend who came last month to help care for her. "Even a nurse in the hospital who only knew Anita a few days said to let her know about a memorial service."

Ms. Webb grew up in Westchester County, N.Y., the daughter of a teacher and a school superintendent. After graduating from Pennsylvania State University, she became a public-relations specialist at Philadelphia Electric Co., now Peco Energy Co. She retired from the company at age 59.

"She did a tremendous job. In a stodgy utility company climate, she had almost too much energy," recalled a former boss, Nick DeBenedictis, now president of Philadelphia Suburban Water Co.

She burned that energy swimming and ice dancing. Then she took up skiing, water skiing and scuba diving. Then rock climbing, windsurfing, marathon running and cycling. She competed fiercely - with herself.

"She was a perfectionist," said Jane Pierson, a Florida friend who had planned to ski with her last month. "I had to encourage her to remember skiing was just a sport: Let's just play."

Kevin Tolan, a Bala Cynwyd neighbor who introduced Ms. Webb to cycling, remembered a bike trip in the Austrian Alps: "I thought I'd show off. But she was like a rocket going up the mountains."

Fletcher MacNeill of Rose Valley, who met her through the Buck Ridge Ski Club, recalled doing a five-person water-ski pyramid - with Ms. Webb at the top.

"She would be yelling, 'Yahoo!' " he said. "She was always so happy."

It wasn't until 1998 at a vacation resort that Ms. Webb, a lifelong circus aficionado, achieved her most whimsical dream�learning to "fly" on the trapeze. She went on to train with world-renowned circus flyers and earned the respect of women a third her age

A year ago, in an Inquirer profile, she said: "I am not a dilettante. I learn a sport as an endeavor. It's not about winning competitions, although that's nice. It's for my pleasure. It's a lifestyle."

Ms. Webb also had scholarly pursuits, notably genealogy. She became active in the Daughters of the American Revolution's Merion Dr. Rush chapter after tracing her ancestry to a South Carolina revolutionary.

Her diagnosis also led her to reach out to other breast-cancer patients, urging them not to give in to despair.

Ms. Webb is survived by her sister, Marianne Springel of Clifton Park, N.Y

In accord with Ms. Webb's wishes, her body was donated to a scientific organization, and a celebration will be held in her memory at 1 p.m. May 6 at the People's Light & Theatre Company, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern.

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Possibly ©2001 by Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted 02/25/02