Sandra Mann | philanthropist devoted to aiding cancer patients

For Sandra Mann, a philanthropist and former member of the board of directors at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, working to improve the lives of cancer patients was a longtime passion.

Mrs. Mann, 61, who lived in Rittenhouse Square, died Wednesday, Sept. 5, of a stroke resulting from kidney cancer, at Pennsylvania Hospital, her relatives said.

Her husband, Fredric R. Mann II, a Philadelphia lawyer and businessman, said his wife served on the board of directors of Fox Chase for 15 years. He said she left the board about two years ago.

Mann described his wife as a person dedicated to supporting and advocating for people with cancer.

"One of her major interests on the board was seeing that patients were well-informed about many of their major issues and health concerns," Mann said.

Mrs. Mann also was president of the Fox Chase Board of Associates, a group that raises money for the research and clinical care facility, which has served cancer patients in Philadelphia for more than 100 years.

David G. Marshall, former chairman of the board at Fox Chase Cancer Center, said Mrs. Mann worked to lift the spirits and outlook of patients at the nationally ranked center.

"She would meet with patients and buoy their spirits and assure them that they were getting the best care by being proactive," Marshall said.

Upon news of Mrs. Mann's death, Dr. Michael Seiden, president of Fox Chase, wrote that she was "a shining example of passion, energy and creativity. It is hard to imagine a world without her."

Other philanthropic interests included serving as a board member of what was then known as The Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Center for Autism, a facility for the evaluation and treatment of people with autism at Ford Road in the city's Wynnefield Heights section.

In 2006, Mrs. Mann and her husband received the Center for Autism's Small Miracles Award for their dedicated service to the facility.

Mrs. Mann was born Nov. 3, 1950, in Abington, Montgomery County, the daughter of Victor and Barbara Serago. She graduated from Abington High School in 1968.

After high school, she worked as a medical office assistant. She and her husband married in 1989.

She had recently returned from a vacation in Avalon, N.J., with her 6-year-old triplet grandchildren, Jake, Charlotte, and Sam Wizov, her husband said.

Along with her husband, Mrs. Mann was active in fund-raising for the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, the 14,000-seat summer music venue in Fairmount Park, which the Mann family has sponsored for more than 75 years.

In addition to her husband and grandchildren, Mrs. Mann is survived by two daughters, Michelle Wizov and Jamie, and a sister.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9, at Joseph Levine & Sons Memorial Chapel, 4737 Street Rd., Trevose. Interment will follow at Roosevelt Memorial Park, Trevose.