Wendy English, 42; inspired others in battle with cancer

Those who loved her and others who barely knew her considered Wendy English a heroine in the battle against breast cancer.

''You got the impression when you saw or talked to Wendy that she was saying: 'I'm going to fight this disease. I'm going to face this head-on,' " said Scott Walters of Boston, one of the organizers of Men with Heart, a group that has raised about half a million dollars in the past five years for breast cancer prevention, treatment, and awareness.

Walters recalled Ms. English's presence at the launching of another Men with Heart walk last year at Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant in Park Square.

''Wendy arrived with her new fiancée, Andrea," he said. ''She surprised me by coming to this party. Earlier in the year, Wendy was struck by her second bout with breast cancer. She had lost her hair and was undergoing radiation and chemotherapy, but she was happy. She showed up wearing a bright blue beret."

The Men with Heart team had decided to present Ms. English with a piece of jewelry, Walters said. ''I remember checking with Wendy to see if it was OK to call her up in front of the crowd to recognize her. She was a bit tentative and uncomfortable, but agreed to come to the front."

Walters said he didn't know what to expect: ''Well, we all saw a most inspiring act of strength and courage. Wendy whipped off her beret and charged right to the front of the room. She walked with a confidence and determination that she wasn't going to allow the disease to slow her down. You saw in her eyes a will to live her life on her terms."

Ms. English, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001 and remained in remission until 2005, died of the disease on April 17 at her Charlestown home. She was 42.

She and Andrea Amico of Italy met on a flight from Italy to the states in 2003 when they were each upgraded to the first-class section and seated side by side. They were married in Boston in November with a traditional Italian wedding feast at Olives restaurant in Charlestown, owned by her brother, Todd English.

When Ms. English came to Boston from Atlanta, where she had been living, four years ago and was undergoing treatment for her cancer, she worked with The Olive Group, the corporate entity of her brother's various restaurants. An infectious optimist, Ms. English had an extroverted personality, and her social disposition made her a natural for the food industry, said her cousin BarbaraJayne DeGolyer of Delray Beach, Fla.

With The Olive Group, Ms. English was involved in marketing, Web design, writing speeches, special events, and product enhancement, her cousin said. Whatever Ms. English did, she made friends, her family said.

''Wendy was loved by everyone who knew her," Todd English said in a statement. ''It didn't matter if they were longtime friends or if they met her just a few times."

Her cousin described her as ''full of life and an incredible encouragement to everyone. She loved nature. She loved life. She loved children. She had an incredible sense of humor and a great sense of style." Ms. English also spoke Italian and Spanish.

In 2004, Walters said, Ms. English cohosted a fund-raiser for breast cancer research at Kingfish Hall, one of her brother's restaurants.

''Wendy was a presence," said her friend Annie Copps of Boston. ''Whatever she was doing, there was always room for another friend, old or new, at her table. She was a beautiful woman with olive skin and green eyes, but she was not a fancy person."

Ms. English was born in Omaha, and then lived in Atlanta, where she attended elementary school. She graduated from the Cambridge School of Weston, then from Katharine Gibbs in 1983. For a time, she worked in New York as a copy editor for Conde Nast, DeGolyer said.

''Wendy was an accomplished artist in faux painting and trompe l'oeil," she said. After she returned to Atlanta, she used those talents doing interior design in her own company, Casa Bella, and continued that work in Boston as well.

While Ms. English did not take part in any fund-raising walks while undergoing treatment, she often was present on the sidelines supporting the walkers and runners.

In May, she was there to cheer on the Men with Heart contingent in The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. To her surprise, a familiar face showed up among the group wearing the Men with Heart signature yellow shirts, Walters said.

It was her spouse, ''who had never taken part in anything like this. Andrea even had to buy sneakers," Walters said. The surprise participation was a present for Ms. English's birthday two weeks earlier.

''It was all about compassion and love in the way Andrea cared for Wendy," Walters said. ''It was a beautiful gesture."

Besides her spouse and her brother, Ms. English leaves two children from a previous marriage, a son, Zachary Muzyk, and a daughter, Victoria Muzyk, both of Pleasantville, N.Y., and Boston; and her mother, Patrica Arcuni of Camden, Maine.

Private services will be held later this spring.