Chapter 01: Memories and Details about Family

Chapter 01: Memories and Details about Family

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Description

In this chapter, Dr. Ecung sketches her early family experiences. She notes that she was from an “Air Force family” and lived overseas for a time, arriving eventually in San Antonio, where both her father and mother worked on planes at the Lackland Air Force Base. She shares memories of her father, who committed suicide when she was ten years old. She notes that her father named her “Wenonah” for her Shawnee grandmother and because the name means “morning star”, alluding to the fact that she was her father’s first born.

Identifier

EcungWB_C01

Publication Date

9-21-2016

City

Houston, Texas

Topics Covered

The Interview Subject's Story - Personal Background; Personal Background

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Disciplines

History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | Oncology | Oral History

Transcript

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

So for the benefit of the archives, I'm Tacey Ann Rosolowski. And today is September 21st, 2016. The time is 11:30, and I am at the home of Wenonah Ecung for our first interview session. Dr. Ecung first came to MD Anderson in 1979 [correction: 1977], and if any of these details are incorrect, you could just let me knowin 1979 in the role of Nurse Clinician II in Medical Oncology. [Correction/addition: She worked on the 8th floor of what was then identified as the Lutheran Pavilion. Individuals on that floor provided care to patients with breast cancer and testicular cancer.] When she retired earlier this year, 2016, she was Vice President of Clinical Administration, reporting to Thomas Buchholz, who is the Executive Vice President and Physician in Chief. As I said, we're interviewing at your lovely home in Houston, Texas. This is the first of probably a couple, maybe three interview sessions. And I want to thank you for taking the time.

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

You're welcome.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

We really, really appreciate it.

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

I actually started at Anderson in December of '78 [corrected: 1977].

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Oh, really?

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

So it was right before '79 [corrected 1978].

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Okay.

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

It was December of '78 [corrected 1977].

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Okay. All right. Well, I wanted to begin in kind of the traditional place, which is, can you tell me where you were born and when? And tell me a little bit about your family. And you look shocked.

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

Well, that's because I am. I guess I won't play poker. So I was born in Washington, DC. My dad was Air Force. So we traveled quite a bit when I was young. We left Washington, DC, went to Paris, and from Paris ended up in Germany, where he was stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base. We were there, oh, I was a little girl, up until right before the first grade. It was at that time we moved. He was transferred to Texas, specifically San Antonio. Gosh, I can't remember the Air Force Base in San Antonio, but we ended up in San Antonio for me to be able to start the first grade. I think my most vivid memory about that was that when we arrived in Texas, I was so disappointed because I didn't see the cowgirls and the cowboys. I was looking for the cowgirls and the cowboys riding horses. I remember my mom telling me, she really had to kind of calm me down and try to help me understand that no, people in Texas don't always ride horses.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Let me just pause for a second. All right. What did your father do in the Air Force?

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

That's sort of a mystery. I know he worked on planes. He and my mother both worked on planes. She was a civilian, so she wasn't per se in the Air Force. But I'm not really clear. I know what I remember of my dad is, he was always studying. His last promotion was to Master Sergeant. But I guess I should convey, my dad died when I was 10 years old. He actually committed suicide. So all I remember of my dad is, my friends coming over, him really being really playful with all of us. He taught judo and karate and archery, I was very good at archery. He wouldplanes would fly over and he'd test me by asking me to identify what the belly of the plane was. I remember him sharing that our ancestral history, he shared with me his mom was Shawnee, and frequently he would test me on things related to that. My name, Wenonah, actually is American Indian, and it means "Morningstar," [and also] according to my dad, "first-born daughter,"which I was his first-born daughter. So that's kind of my memory of my dad.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Wow. Your birth date, would you share that?

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

Sure. Do you need the year?

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Well, I'm not going to force you, if you really don't want to.

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

But it's July the 10th.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Okay. You're going to keep the year secret for now?

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

For now. If you need it later, I'll reveal it.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Okay. And do you have any siblings?

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

I do. I have two sisters.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

And their names?

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

Joslyn Merean Fairrow.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Merean?

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

M-E-R-E-A-N.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

M-E-R?

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

E-A-N.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

E-A-N? Oh, that's an interesting name.

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

[She was named] after my mother.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

And I'm sorry, the last name?

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

Fairrow. F-A-I-R-R-O-W.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Oh, okay.

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

And Tambela, T-A-M-B-E-L-A, Danyelle, D-A-N-Y-E-L-L-E.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Y

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

Franklin.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Franklin. Okay.

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

And the first one is older, and the second one is younger.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Okay.

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

So I'm the middle child.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Okay. And you parents' names?

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

My dad was James William Brent. And my mother, Merean Beatrice Tandy, T-A-N-D-Y, Brent.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Okay. And just for your information, all of this stuff I'm writing down, all the names, I'm going to send you a list of those so you can correct them before they go for transcription.

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

Okay. Okay.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

That it helps with the accuracy.

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

Okay. You can addshe did remarry, so Sheffield, S-H-E-F-F-I-E-L-D.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

Okay. All right. Now, so your father passed away when you were 10?

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

Mm-hmm.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD :

And what happened with your family at that point?

Wenonah Ecung, PhD:

Well, we were in San Antonio. He and my mom had divorced by then. So we remained in San Antonio. My mother hadn't remarried at the time. But we remained in San Antonio. I continued through middle school and high school. SheI do remember she started working at that time. But that'sso anyway, through middle school, high school, then I went off to college.

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Chapter 01: Memories and Details about Family

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