Day 16: Mary Lou Klutho

July 1, 2013

Today we ran from Salina, KS to Kansas City, KS.

4k Runners and San Fran Team morning dedication circle

This morning the San Francisco biking team joined us for our dedication circle before we headed out to run to Kansas City and they finished getting ready before riding to Wichita, KS. 

Sam and I after running for the day had finished

My running partner today was Sam. I love getting to run with her!! Unfortunately her shin splints are really bad and she could only complete 3 miles. After Sam started driving for us, I tacked on to Kim L. and Will’s pair to finish up my miles for the day. I ended the day with only 11 miles due to the flip-flopping of teams. But eventually I will make up that one mile. So I’m not stressed about it.

Tonight we were invited to stay at the home of Amanda’s friend. Mrs. Jill Klein told us to come on over when we got finished with our running. She wasn’t home from work yet but her son and daughter-in-law were both there. They had tons of lunchmeat, wraps, and fruit for us to eat for lunch. Half of our team are staying in Jill’s house and the rest are staying in her husband’s house. They recently got married and haven’t gotten a chance to put her house on the market so she said it was perfect timing to have us running through town! 

Jill had some coworkers come over after work and they helped her prepare our dinner. It was amazing! We had pulled pork, chicken salad, croissants, fruit, salad, and coleslaw. We barely spoke while we ate, it was so good!

Mrs. Jill preparing our dinner! God Bless her!

The Klein's Dogs :) 

After the very filling and delicious dinner, we got ready for bed. I got to talk to Jill about her sister Susan that passed away due to colon cancer. Tomorrow I will be running for her.

Today was dedicated to Mary Lou Klutho. She is my boyfriend’s grandmother. I ran today for her because her granddaughter will be attending school in Kansas City next year. Here are the words from Dan his grandmother:

"My grandmother’s name was Mary Lou Klutho. At the age of 52, she contracted non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and died two years later in 1988. My mother was 23 at the time and I never got to meet her myself because I would not be born for almost another five years. My grandmother was the youngest of three children and grew up on a dairy farm. Her father, my great-grandfather, died of the same cancer at the age of 45 before doctors knew how to diagnose it. She never had more than a high-school education, but she was an intelligent and driven individual. When she met my grandfather, he was working as a mechanic in the family garage in southern Illinois. She realized that a tiny local garage would not support three families and was able to finance sending my grandfather through college to get his degree in engineering. Even though he was the one with the college degree, she still controlled the family finances. She supported and defended her family no matter the circumstance. When my mother did not get a summer internship at McDonald-Douglass, my grandmother found an employee that was currently contracting out to NASA as an astronaut and told him the company was making a huge mistake by turning down her daughter. Two weeks later my mother got an acceptance letter from them. My mother says the hardest thing about her passing was that she missed some of the most important moments in my mother’s life such as her marriage and the births of her children. My grandmother died at a relatively young age, so my mother was never able to fully develop their mother-daughter relationship to one between two adults. She was not able to be there to give guidance and support when my mother was planning her wedding or raising my sister and me. Luckily my mother was self-sufficient when my grandmother died. She had graduated college and found a job, but she still missed having a mother during some pretty important life events. It seems this disease runs in the family, so all I can do is hope it does not afflict my mother or she beats it, so I will not have to undergo what my mother experienced."

Dan- It sounds like your grandmother was a wonderful woman. It's unfortunate that you and Emma never got the chance to meet her. But it sounds like your mother inherited great traits from her mom and I am glad that you all have been able to know your grandma through stories and memories that your mom holds dear to her. I also hope that no one in your immediate family will ever be diagnosed with the same disease. Know that I am running, thinking, and praying for your family. Thanks for sharing the story of Mary Lou Klutho.