Have you ever met someone with absolutely undeniable sincerity and charisma? That was my Mom. I'd seen it in action many times. One minute, she'd be sitting next to someone on an airplane; the next minute, they'd be trading phone numbers and pictures of their kids.

I've heard the phrase "my mother is a saint" so many times that's it practically a cliché. I guess parenting children would be a good start to an application for sainthood, but my Mom's resume was much fuller. For over twenty years, she taught kindergarten in one of the roughest neighborhoods of inner-city Pittsburgh. Along the way, she had chances to switch to schools in better neighborhoods, but she never did. She knew she was making a difference in those children's lives.

Unfortunately, I only got to experience my Mom's charm and goodness for 22 years. In December 1999, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. At age 57, her doctor gave her only three months to live. She sure showed him. After nine months of struggling through medical trials and chemotherapy, she succumbed to the disease on September 7, 2000. She was survived by her mother, until pancreatic cancer took her as well.

My mom seemingly never missed a chance to give to charity. She was an easy mark for every fundraiser. While I could never hope to match her uncommon generosity, I look for ways to contribute to charitable causes in her honor. My girlfriend, Andrea Levy, recently presented me with such an opportunity. She's running the P.F. Chang's Rock n' Roll marathon on January 15, 2006 in loving memory of my mom, Marilyn Elikan. Her goal is to raise $1,000 for Johns Hopkins Pancreatic Cancer Research Center. Please help her meet her goal. Join the fight against pancreatic cancer.


Sincerely,
Howard Elikan, the son of a great woman