Person of the Year 2013: Sarah Price

You made your nominations, then voted those nominations until the literal end of 2013. We waited a week, we counted and verified and now we have our winner! 

And out of a sea of worthy competitors Morristown/Morris Township-Morris Plains Patch Person of the Year is author, blogger and lifetime Morristown resident Sarah Price, AKA Shelly Nice Schumacher.

Price is an author of Amish fiction whose work has been recognized as a bestseller on Amazon.com, but it was her willingness to share her personal struggle with breast cancer that caught the attention of so many Patch readers.

The votes for Price included passionate descriptions from around the world about the far-reaching effects stemming from the author's Pink Umbrella approach to fighting cancer. 

"Instead of crying or withdrawing," Price wrote. "I faced cancer with an attitude that encompasses my personal philosophy: Cancer, you picked the wrong chick!"

Price said that when the Nurse Practitioner told her told her to put the "icky white chalky cancer drink" in the refrigerator so that it didn’t taste so bad, she replied that I would only drink it from a fancy glass with straw and cocktail umbrella. 

"They thought I was joking, My entourage knew better," Price said. "And thus was born the Pink Umbrella approach to cancer."

Out of the scores of comments in support of Price sent in, Mary Jewell may have put it best. 

Jewell said that Price had dedicated over 40 years to helping people in the community, first by starting a pre-school for underprivileged children, collecting school supplies for children whose parents could not afford them, collecting coats for the homeless, distributing food to the hungry on the streets of Morristown.

Price also devotes time at Seaton Hackney Stables, helping the children and rescuing animals from the slaughterhouse.

Jewell said that Price started a non-profit charity that helped people both in New Jersey and other states, and that was all before she had breast cancer and started the Pink Umbrella initiative to motivate and provide support to others.

Price's public battle with cancer included complications like four mastectomies, blood transfusions, daily IV antibiotics for a month and high blood pressure.  

Jewell echoed the sentiments of many that Price has provided a lifetime of inspiration.

 "If that's not worthy of being recognized in the town," Jewell said. "I don't know what is."

Did we get it right? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below?