Obituaries: Ann McGee, 51, attorney

When Ann McGee found out she had an aggressive form of breast cancer, doctors told her she'd have about a year to live.

That was nearly four years ago. In that time, the former attorney led a cancer-survivors group and tried to continue her Tai Chi lessons.

McGee, of Minneapolis, died Saturday from complications of the cancer at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. She was 51.

"You know when you hear people say someone lost their battle to cancer, well, Ann wasn't that way," said her brother Jim McGee of Wilmington, N.C. "She never felt sorry for herself. When I would tell her I was sorry she had that condition, she would say, 'yeah,' and move on."

McGee's longtime boyfriend, Rick Hendrickson of Minneapolis, agreed.

"A doctor once jokingly asked, 'Ms. McGee, why are you still alive? The prognosis only gives you 11 months to live,' " he said. "Ann told him, 'Because I'm tough.' "

Hendrickson, an attorney who shared a Bloomington law office with McGee for nearly 20 years, until her retirement in 1997, said she was a compassionate person.

Best friend Dede Doi, who knew McGee since 1964 and attended high school and college with her, echoed the sentiments.

"Where do I begin?" she said. "Ann was such a unique person. She was a conduit. I think she gathered strength, especially in her condition from her family and friends."

McGee was born in rural Iowa, and had attended a one-room school there before her family moved to Minneapolis in the early 1950s. She became the woman of the house in the early 1960s after her mother, Ruth McGee, died of breast cancer.

"Ann went through life thinking about whether she would get breast cancer," her brother said. "When she was diagnosed, she said, 'OK, let's try to beat this thing.' "

Doctors diagnosed the inflammatory carcinoma in 1996. According to Intelihealth.com, this type accounts for between 1 and 4 percent of all breast cancer cases. It is the most aggressive and difficult to treat because it spreads quickly.

"That's the way Ann was," he said. "She always looked out for other people."