Zumbathon Dedicated to Debbie Reynolds Raises $1,700

Debbie would have appreciated the recent Zumbathon that celebrated her life. Zumba was her favorite exercise class, full of vitality like Debbie herself.

Lt. Col. Debbie Reynolds of fought cancer for 11 years until she passed on Dec. 21, 2011, at age 52. A member, she spent hours a day working out at the Y where she was embraced by friends and was an inspiration to all who were fortunate enough to know her.

“I always will think of her when I think of Zumba,” says her friend Jodi Smedley. “It made her so happy, it was fun for her and it made her laugh. It’s one of the things that helped her forget she had cancer.”

Her husband of 28 years, Scott Reynolds, said Debbie was a runner who loved to dance and workout. Working out wasn't work, and that was in her favor. “She always needed to get ready for the next battle of cancer, the next treatment. The Y gave her that place, that family feel, the exercise that made her stronger. It was where she could get herself through the treatment and not have to do it by herself.”

Jodi agrees and said that the cancer never stopped Debbie. The first thing Debbie would ask her doctor after treatment was when she could exercise again. And she never waited as long they said.

Debbie may not have know how very many people she touched with her indomitable spirit, but many of the 100-plus people who danced to the Latin-based rhythms at the Zumbathon were thinking of her.

The event raised $1,700 for the Y Strong Community Campaign.