The Run for Annie: December 2008

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” - Winston Churchill

We established this site when Mary Ann was diagnosed with cancer to raise money for Annie's future. We have lost Annie's incredible mother. Hopefully through donations towards Annie's future, those of us who loved Mary Ann can provide comfort and support for her young daughter.

Mary Ann Sherlock

Mary Ann (West) Sherlock of Austin, Texas passed away on December 22, 2009, after a courageous seventeen-month battle with cholangiocarcinoma. She died peacefully with her husband, Craig, at her side.

She was born November 3, 1968, in Portsmouth, Virginia, the daughter of Jack and San West. She graduated from Warwick High School in 1986, and Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia in 1990. Prior to her cancer diagnosis, she enjoyed an accomplished career in sales with Ferguson Enterprises in Augusta, GA and Houston, TX and Kiva Kitchen & Bath in Austin, TX.

Among Mary Ann’s varied interests were photography, dance, and camping, as well as spending time with her family. Prior to coming to Texas, she lived in Augusta, Georgia, where she founded The Rachel Longstreet Foundation, a major contributor to the Jessye Norman School of The Arts to honor her first child, Virginia Stuart Trainor, who lived a short life of five years. She spearheaded the building of the first handicapped-accessible playground in Georgia, “Virginia’s Playground” in Augusta.

Mary Ann was an active Rotary Club member, an award-winning salesperson, and recipient of the Young Alumna Achievement Award from Randolph-Macon College in 2005. She was a wonderful wife, mother and friend, brave and noble throughout her life, and will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

She is survived by her husband Craig and daughter Annie of Austin, TX; her parents Jack and San West of The Woodlands, TX; and her brother Ned West and his wife Jennifer, their daughters Caroline and Violet of Black Hawk, CO., her grandfather, Capt. John H. Garrett, Jr., USN of Richmond, VA, and many loving aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Memorial service will be held at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 3901 S. Panther Creek Dr., The Woodlands, TX 77381.

In lieu of flowers donations to The Run for Annie fund for Annie Sherlock’s future education would be appreciated. Information may be found at: http://therunforannie.blogspot.com/.

Annie Sherlock was born in April of 2008 to Craig and Mary Ann Sherlock of Austin, Texas. She is a very happy little girl that likes books, music and her dog Katie. When Annie was an infant, her mother was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer called cholangiocarcinoma. This cancer typically goes undiagnosed until it is in the late stage of the disease and Mary Ann’s disease is at stage IV. She is responding well to chemotherapy and the family is remaining positive, though they do understand that long term survival for this disease is five years.

Craig and Mary Ann feel very strongly about Annie’s education and wish for her to go to college. Their ability to save money for Annie’s education has been affected by medical expenses and Mary Ann’s inability to work full time in her position as a sales person. They are very humbled by the efforts being made to help raise money for Annie’s future. Small donations go a long way in building a 529 for a child’s future and the family is very grateful for the generosity of others.

My name is John Curtiss and I am married to one of Mary Ann's cousins. I am running the Austin Marathon on February 15, 2009 to fund a 529 Education Plan for Annie. My goal is to raise sufficient funds to pay for one year of tuition and room and board. Annie will be entering her Freshman year in 2026. By then, the cost of in-state tuition is estimated to be as much as $40,000 per year-- up to $80,000 per year for a private school. While the numbers are very large, all donations make a significant impact. For instance, a pledge of $70 will grow over time to cover a day of school – tuition plus room and board. A gift of $100 will cover the cost of a single course for one week.We are all blessed and “rich” in many ways.

We have opened a 529 Plan through Vanguard Investments. The 529 Plan is offered by College Savings Iowa. All donations via personal check should be made out to College Savings Iowa. Or, if you prefer, donations can be made online via Pay Pal.

Please find it in your hearts to share in a wonderful cause. Please help fund Annie’s future.

If you want to make a post, please let me know via email (anniesherlock@gmail.com) and I will add you as an author.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Back from CT

We just got back from CT. Great to see the Boehly family and the cousins had a great time together. I got a couple runs in during the trip. Darien is a beautiful place and the weather cooperated. Even busted out the shorts for one of the runs because weather was in the 60s. Came back to several more donations......thanks Hayes family, Schaers, Alfred's, Hopkings and Raper's.

We are now at nearly $4,000 in donations. Race is in six weeks. Getting excited. Hope everyone has a fun New Years - be safe!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Wonderful Tribute

Thanks John & Kelly. What a wonderful tribute to Annie & her family.
Ol' man winter has given you training challenges we southerners can't begin to imagine.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Over $3,000 in Donations

Total donations are now at $3,241 for Annie's fund! This is very exciting. Thanks to everyone.

I also got a very exciting email from Sara Hinkley. Sara is involved with an organization called www.cholangiocarcinoma.org which is focused on helping people with this form of cancer. Sara came across this blog from her Google alerts and was kind enough to send a message. We have forwarded her email to MA and Craig and hope that it proves to be a useful contact for the family. The organization seems pretty impressive and I hope everyone can check out the site above. Thanks Sara!

Also, thanks to San and Jack for their kind words and email.

On a training note, it is ridiculously cold and windy outside. So, I am training this week indoors mostly on a bike. It is a nice break from the running. I am hoping to get a good run in over the Christmas holidays at the Boehly's in CT.

Hope everyone has a great Christmas and look forward to catching up in the New Year!

John

Sunday, December 21, 2008

WAY TO GO, JOHN!

John and Kelly, a special thanks from your extended family for setting up the Education Plan for Annie. What a special gift you have made possible for all of us to give to Mary Ann, Craig, and Annie. This blog you and Garrett Louise set up is perfect for keeping family and friends in the loop. It allows all of us to easily contribute and participate in The Run for Annie. John, a HUGE THANK YOU for running in the Austin marathon. I can't begin to imagine the difficulty of training in the ice and snow for the 26 mile run Feb 15th. Wish Jack and I could be there in person to support you, but we'll be there in spirit cheering you on.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Quick update

We are now up to a total of $1,125 in pledges. The marathon is about two months away. Please feel free to pass the website to anyone who you might thing is interested. Hope everyone had a good weekend. John and Rose were in town for the weekend and are now headed back to Bristol to be with Nancy in the hospital. Nancy remains in our prayers.

Have a good week! John

Friday, December 12, 2008

12/12 update

We are rapidly approaching $1,000 in donations. We have also received many requests for permission to post blog messages. If you would like to post a message, email us at anniesherlock@gmail.com and we will get you access.

As far as training goes, this week was a recovery week. Last Saturday, I ran 20 miles. Needless to say, my legs were a bit sore early this week, so I switched to the bike rather than running to prevent injury. After a couple deep tissue massages, I am feeling better and got a run in later in the week. This weekend, I only need to run 6 miles and plan to do some of it with John Garrett who is in town for the weekend. My next long run is 23 miles and will be in two weeks....weather cooperating.

I thought I would acknowledge all of the people who have contributed thus far. If you plan to donate and want to remain anonymous, just let us know. Thank you to everyone who has contributed thus far:

John Curtiss Sr.

Cory Shannon (my cousin)

Ryan Bruan

Sarah Williams

Addrienne Eoppolo

Rene Ruvalcaba

David Houck

Athena Muscio

Melanie Moreton

Jan Curtiss

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I will add a donor section to the blog as well.

John

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Many Thanks from Daddy Craig

Daddy Craig here. Just can't say thank you enough to John, Kelly, Garrett Louise(my second favorite Louise in this family, next to my daughter!), and the rest of you, our family and friends. We are stronger because of all of you. We love you all very, very much...

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

News Media

Any chance we could get some media coverage on JC Runner's marathon activities and the scholarship story? Would be great press for Austin and the project.

Donations Update

We are making good early progress towards the goal. As of today, there is $880 in total donations.

Thanks Mom and Dad for your contribution.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Send Pictures

We are starting to get more pictures for the slideshow. Special thanks to Terry Cassidy for sending a group from the baptism. Everyone is enjoying looking at them.

I am pretty much back to normal walking after the 20 miles on Saturday. No more long runs for three weeks.

Thank you to all those who have donated

In the first couple of days we have raised approximately $275 in donations. Thank you very much.

I got a 20 mile run in this weekend....so I only have two more long training runs before the marathon in February....

John