Nationally known teacher loses fight against cancer

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, April 7, 1998 | 10:30 a.m.

Donna Oram, a nationally recognized Clark County teacher who taught first graders during two years of debilitating cancer, died Sunday. She was 53.

Oram, a 31-year teaching veteran, taught most recently at J.T. McWilliams Elementary School in Las Vegas. She had battled breast, liver and bone cancer in her leg since 1996.

Oram taught during three lengthy rounds of chemotherapy and radiation she had since 1996, said her husband of 31 years, Thomas Oram. She eventually left her classroom at Christmas.

"She taught through a lot of pain with a crutch," Thomas Oram said. "She loved teaching so much. Wherever we went she looked at everything in how it might fit into her classroom to be used to teach kids."

Other teachers and staff at McWilliams admired Oram for her bravery, said school office manager Shirley Peterson.

"She did not miss one day of school," Peterson said. "She would go to chemotherapy in the morning and then come to work. None of us could believe how she hung in there. She never let on that she was sick or hurting. She had the most upbeat attitude. She was always laughing or smiling.

"It was never 'if I come back,' it was always 'when I come back.' Even if she knew it in her heart, she never let on."

Oram was recognized in January in "Who's Who Among American's Teachers," a journal of the nation's top educators. A former student nominated her.

Oram also had been selected as PTA teacher of the month.

Oram, an Indiana native, lived in Las Vegas 18 years. She is survived by her husband and sons Michael and Angelo Oram.

Funeral memorial services will be at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Palm Mortuary, 7400 W. Cheyenne Road. There will be no visitation. Memorials may be made to Nathan Adelson Hospice Center, 4141 S. Swenson Ave., Las Vegas, NV, 89195-9652.