Baranek: Oak Lawn and Marist share a championship bond in cancer survivor Rosemary Jepsen

Marty Jepsen shook his head and smiled.

I was talking with the Marist boys volleyball standout about inspiration, courage and coming out a champion.

It had nothing to do with his sport.

It had everything to do with his big sister, Rosemary, and her battles with adversity.

“It’s crazy,” Jepsen said. “It’s hard to wrap your mind around it. I don’t think I could have dealt with any of it. I’ve learned a lot from her.”

A 2018 Oak Lawn graduate, Rosemary Jepsen has had two bouts with cancer during her lifetime — one at age 3 and the other just recently.

Now, she’s in remission and feeling great. A few weeks ago, she threw out the first pitch at an Oak Lawn baseball game. Two weekends ago, she was in Hoffman Estates cheering on her brother to a state title.

“It was awesome,” Rosemary said. “It was great because my brother scored the final point of his senior year. He had point No. 25.”

A big sister couldn’t be more proud.

Rosemary, meanwhile, has her sights set on a career in the culinary arts. She is taking baking and pastry courses at Moraine Valley. She’s already thinking way beyond popping an angel food cake in the oven.

“I think my future would be in decorating,” Jepsen said. “I’m not great at it right now, but I find it more fun. You can experiment. I find decorating or piping far more interesting than just baking cakes and cookies.”

Her inspiration to decorate comes from international pastry instructor Amaury Guichon.

“He makes insane cakes and chocolate things, like life-sized clocks all out of chocolate,” Jepsen said. “It’s crazy.”

Rosemary’s determination to succeed has a precedent.

According to her parents, Jenn and Bill, she maintained a champion’s attitude during her most recent bout with cancer, which began in November 2018.

“She has been courageous,” Jenn said. “She never complained during treatment. She actually looked forward to seeing all of the nurses. She was absolutely wonderful.

“She always told me, ‘Mom, I’m going to be all right.’ She was completely confident she was going to beat it.”

Rosemary didn’t have to feel alone.

“One of the main reasons I got through it was because of my grandmother (Anne Whealan),” she said. “At the beginning of last year she had lung cancer, but they caught it early and she’s fine now.

“From her being in (a similar situation), I could have her support on a different level. I could talk about things with her because she literally knew what I was going through.”

Rosemary was deemed in remission in March 2019. She resumed her classes at Moraine Valley.

On May 13, she returned to Oak Lawn to throw out the first pitch before the baseball game against Evergreen Park.

In her honor, Spartans coach Bill Gerny and his players wore jerseys with Spartan Strong Rosemary on the front and Jepsen on the back.

“It was a good reminder for our players that there is more to life than just baseball and a game,” Gerny said. “Just by being there for someone and showing that they care goes a long way.”

The words on their shirts couldn’t have provided a better description. Just ask her little brother.

“Your cards are dealt to you and you have two options,” Marty Jepsen said. “You can either let these obstacles you go through define you or you can do what my sister did and rise above it and do what you want to do in life.”

From one champion to another, that’s a beautiful salute.