American lawyer (1964 - 2023)
Isabella de la Houssaye (February 2, 1964 – December 2, 2023) was a lawyer, business owner, and endurance athlete best known for her six-year battle against lung cancer.
Early life and education.
De la Houssaye was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and attended the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, La. before matriculating to Princeton University. At Princeton, she majored in politics and wrote her thesis about Habib Bourguiba Jr.'s rule of Tunisia.
After graduation de la Houssaye moved to New York City where she attended Columbia Law School, serving as the first female editor-in-chief of the "Journal of Transnational Law". She graduated in 1990.
Career.
de la Houssaye worked as an international finance lawyer at White &amp; Case before moving to Lehman Brothers as an investment banker. After her international finance career she became the co-owner of Material Culture, a Philadelphia-based retail store and auction house.
She was a prolific philanthropist and served on the board of several non-profit foundations including Princeton in Asia, Students on Ice, Ride Hard Breath Easy, and Give Back Yoga, where she was known for her dedication and tenacity.
Cancer diagnosis and advocacy.
In January 2018, de la Houssaye received a Stage IV EGFR+ non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) diagnosis. As a life-long non-smoker, non-drinker, and athlete, who had regular health checkups, she was caught by surprise by this late-stage diagnosis but quickly resolved to fight the disease. At the time of her diagnosis the cancer had spread across her body from her lungs to her pelvis, spine, sacrum, adrenal gland, and brain. According to the American Cancer Society, the 5-year survival rate for Stage IV NSCLC patients is less than 10%, although these numbers are increasing as new treatments are developed. As de la Houssaye fought her own battle with her cancer, she also decided to raise awareness for lung cancer and founded Bike Breathe Believe, an advocacy group dedicated to educating people about lung cancer and providing support for patients.
Endurance athletics.
A lifelong outdoor enthusiast, de la Houssaye competed around the world in trail runs, triathlons, long-distance swims, and athletic endeavors of all types. Over the course of her life, de la Houssaye completed multiple Ironman triathlons, ultra-distance stage races, and climbed four of the Seven Summits. Additionally, she took her family on adventure travel excursions that ranged from riding horses across the Gobi Desert to hiking of Spain's Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. Many of these feats, including her 2019 summiting of Aconcagua (South America's tallest peak), were accomplished after her cancer diagnosis. In 2018, de la Houssaye competed in the Ironman World Championship race in Kona as one of the Ironman Foundation's athletes. A short list of her athletic accomplishments includes: over 100 marathons, including at least one in each US state and on all seven continents, over two dozen Ironman Triathlons, and a trans-American bike ride from California to Florida.
Personal life.
De la Houssaye spent most of her life in the Lawrenceville section of Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, with her husband David W. Crane and their five children. She died on December 2, 2023.
References.
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