Proud of being tall, she found someone to look up to

By STEPHANIE HAYES, Times Staff Writer
Published September 27, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Family photo] Lisa Wiegner had Marfan Syndrome, which generally makes people very tall. Lisa was able to find herself a tall man, her husband Steve.

TAMPA - One night, Lisa Wiegner phoned a radio program,Desperate and Dateless, broadcasting from Pinellas Park.

It was 18 years ago. Lisa was single and looking for a tall man.

Steve Wiegner was listening. At 6 feet 7, he fit the bill.

They met at a McDonald's and spent five hours at Busch Gardens. Both were interested in metaphysical spirituality and jazz. He liked her intelligence. And she liked looking up at someone for a change.

Lisa was 6 feet 1.

Marfan syndrome, the same condition that made Lisa tall, cut her life short.

Connective tissue is the body's framework. People with the syndrome have defective connective tissue. It also makes some people very tall.

It's thought that Abraham Lincoln as well French president Charles de Gaulle and rocker Joey Ramone had Marfan. One in 5,000 people has it.

Lisa didn't know about her condition for years. Her family just assumed they were naturally tall. Her parents met at a club for tall people.

But in the 1970s, Lisa's sister, Kris Harrington, developed a skin condition. Doctors noticed Harrington, now 51, had physical features of Marfan - long limbs, thin and tall. Lisa and her mother also got checked. All were positive.

For the last 10 years, Lisa lived with a tear in her aorta, common of Marfan. Recently, she underwent a risky aorta replacement. She died last week after the surgery, but her family is waiting for the exact cause of death. She was 54.

* * *

As a teen, Lisa was reserved. She was a gifted writer with exquisite penmanship. She kept her room organized, and once taped a line across the floor to ban her messy younger sister.

She pushed herself, graduating from Fordham University and then Florida State with a master's degree in social work. She spent time in Iowa, teaching literacy to the poor.

In Tampa, she taught English to learning disabled students at Hillsborough Community College. She volunteered at Alafia Elementary and with the National Marfan Foundation,.

"She was expressive," said her sister, Kris. "You could tell what she was thinking and feeling. She lived large. She didn't hold back."

* * *

Patty Wiegner is 14 and the mirror image of her mother.

She's a writer and has a pretty singing voice. She's 6 feet. And she has Marfan syndrome.

"Be proud of being tall, because there's no way you're going to get shorter," her mother would tell her. "Put a smile on your face and be happy to be who you are."

Patty likes being tall.

The way she sees it, it's better than average.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or 727 893-8857.

BIOGRAPHY

Lisa Wiegner

Born: Oct. 1, 1952.

Died: Sept. 17, 2007.

Survivors: husband, Steve; daughter, Patty; sister, Kris G. Harrington; cousin, Kathleen Preusser; niece, Esther Harrington; brother-in-law, Stuart Wiegner. Predeceased by brother, Daniel Geilenkirchen.

[Last modified September 26, 2007, 23:13:53]