Social activist, professor loses battle to breast cancer By Rob O’Flanagan/The Sudbury Star To my heart, my passion The soft touch of my child’s hand To keep the fire’s embers Glowing. — From the poem Red Is, by Jennifer Keck Social justice was the driving force of Jennifer Keck’s life, say her friends and colleagues. The 48-year-old Laurentian University professor — renowned for her strength, wisdom and boundless energy — died peacefully Wednesday morning at Sudbury Regional Hospital. Friends and family kept a 24-hour vigil at her hospital bedside during her final days. “It’s a great loss to Laurentian University and to so many of us personally,” said Joan Mount, dean of the Faculty of Professional Schools. “It came much more suddenly than we thought.” Keck battled breast cancer and won in 1997, but in January 2001, the cancer returned more virulently. She is survived by her husband, Don Kuyek, David, her 12-year-old son, and a stepson. Hundreds of people in Sudbury, across the province and country considered her a dear friend, many said. “Jennifer was a vibrant, alive, dynamic, caring person,” said friend Gary Kinsman, fellow activist and sociology professor. “She was one of the most welcoming and supportive people I ever met. It’s quite a loss for me.” Even during her recent, extended sick leave from teaching duties at the University of Sudbury’s School of Social Work, Keck filled her days with social activism and research, said Carol Kauppi, a long-time friend and colleague. A few days before her death, she expressed disappointment over not being able to present a paper on breast cancer support groups in Victoria, B.C., Kauppi and Mount said. “She was a dynamic force, a person with incredible motivation and drive,” said Kauppi, an associate professor in the School of Social Work. Carole Mayer of the Sudbury Regional Breast Health Program said Keck was the principle researcher on a project looking at the experience of women in breast cancer support groups. “She was a wonderful person and an excellent researcher who was extremely dedicated to the issue at hand,” Mayer said. “Breast cancer support groups were extremely close to her heart and she worked very hard to help women who experienced similar things to what she went through.” Peter Desilets of Sudbury was a friend of Keck’s for 30 years and worked with her on the Committee to Remember Kimberly Rogers. Through the committee’s Justice with Dignity campaign — and thanks largely to Keck’s expertise in the area of social policy — both the Ottawa City and Northumberland Country councils passed motions opposing the government’s lifetime social assistance ban for those convicted of welfare fraud. Also dear to Keck’s heart, said Mercedes Steedman, a Laurentian sociology professor, was the work performed by women at Inco during the Second World War. Through her work on the subject, a conference and several scholarly papers resulted. A memorial service will be held for Jennifer Keck at Laurentian’s Alphonse Raymond auditorium June 22 at 2 p.m.