Foundation continues mission of former resident

LAKE VILLA – Katie LaPlante Evans died before she had completed her life's work.

At the time of her death, the 32-year-old former Antioch resident was working as project manager for a HIV/AIDS and domestic violence outreach program in Romania. She had already served as Peace Corps volunteer in Bangladesh, worked as a coordinator of volunteer services for the Chicago Food Depository and earned a master's degree in public health from Florida International University.

But while living in Romania in 2007 with her husband, John, Katie Evans was killed by a bear during a hiking trip.

Instead of letting her life's work fall by the wayside, friends and family created the nonprofit Katie Memorial Foundation following her death.

"It gave us something to work together on," John Evans said. "We were just shocked that there were so many people who responded to support her."   

Since the foundation was started following Katie Evans' death, six scholarships have been awarded to graduate students doing the kind of work in public health she devoted her life to, John Evans said.

"We call it looking for future Katies," he said. "If we support them we can help them become those future leaders.

The foundation will host its third annual fun run and walk fundraiser Saturday, Oct. 23, at Sun Lake Forest Preserve in Lake Villa. Check-in begins at 7:45 a.m. and a race for kids will start at 9:05 a.m. followed by the run and walk at 9:30 a.m.

Since Katie Evans was a lover of the outdoors herself, organizers felt that an opportunity to bring people outside to support the foundation was an appropriate way to celebrate her life,  said Dave Cashman, the race director and friend of Evans.

"From the get-go, we had the idea of doing some kind of active event in honor of Katie that would also support the foundation," Cashman said. "She would be happy that we are doing this to help remember her."

One of the key elements members of the foundation look for when awarding scholarships is a desire in recipients to do the kind of grassroots work in communities Evans devoted her life to, said Michelle Yearout, Evans' sister. A humble person, Evans did not strive for the limelight, Yearout said, but would be happy to know the foundation created in her honor seeks to continue the work she had a passion for.

"She felt very strongly that it was important to spread the word about public health," Yearout said. "[She was] trying to help community learn how to help themselves."

John Evans sees the growth of the Katie Memorial Foundation as a way for those who knew his wife to turn something horrible into something good. As long as the foundation continues its work, she will live on through those efforts, he said.

"For me personally it has made Katie into a symbol for doing great things in the world," John Evans said.

If you go ...

What: The Katie Memorial Foundation Fun Run and Walk. Event will include a 5K run/walk for adults, and a 400 meter run for children.

When: 7:45 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 23

Where: Sun Lake Forest Preserve in Lake Villa. The main entrance is located on the south side of Grass Lake Road, west of Deep Lake Road and east of Route 83.

Cost: Pre-registration is $20. Race-day registration is $25. Children are $10 to pre-register, and $15 on race day.

For more information: Visit www.katiememorialfoundation.org for deatils about the foundation and to register for the race.