Fremd Student's Lasting Legacy

This isn’t your average graduation celebration.

You know right away by the swath of orange wristbands, the $5 McDonalds gift cards available at the door meant to be collected and handed out to the homeless, the recommended reading list – a double star marking the book Will Kelley, the 17-year-old Fremd student who succumbed to leukemia last spring didn’t have the chance to finish.

His picture sits on the mantel, surrounded by letters and other pictures. The title of Will’s portrait is Peace in the midst, and it is peace the Kelley family hoped to find as dozens of friends, family, and acquaintances gathered throughout a recent June evening at their Palatine home for a "gratitude" celebration.

“Will was special,” Darren Whitehead, teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church said. “My daughter painted a picture for him that is still up in his room. My daughter is three. I don’ t think you’ll meet many teenagers who keep a three-year-olds painting on their wall.”

A devoted Christian, avid reader, guitarist and lacrosse and soccer player interested in aerospace engineering, there seemed to be only a single event in life that, like that book on the reading list, was unfinished.

John Kelley, Will’s father, made his son’s last wish a reality when he cycled 100 miles around Lake Tahoe the last two years for the Cancer Lymphoma Society. He  said it became Will’s goal to ride in the Tahoe race after his chemotherapy was finished.

“I’d ridden bikes before,” John Kelley said. “But not that far. When I started to get serious about training a friend looked at my bike and laughed. He said there had been some major developments in bike technology in the last 25 years.”

The ride is one of the society’s largest fundraisers with more than 3,500 riders, half of whom are leukemia survivors. In order to get a spot, a rider must raise a minimum of $4,500. John raised $15,000 this year.

John Kelley returned from his second trip out west earlier this month. The ride was challenging with temperatures in the 40s and inclement weather forcing the team to cut he ride 20 miles short.

Through blogging by Will’s mother, Joan Kelley, and strong support from the community, Will’s story grew, and the race in Tahoe became a goal for a team known as “Will Power.”

Will Power raised $32.000 last year during Will’s last six months of chemo.

 Will died in April 2010, just a day before the last training session. John said the team was devastated.

“Until he was gone, it wasn’t real. Suddenly, it’s not an abstract thing anymore,” he said.

Fremd High School's graduation was June 5, but in Will's  seat was a white rose. Before he died, the Lymphoma Society named Will an honored hero, and from the three-year-olds who paint pictures to the people who raise thousands of dollars to ride a bike a hundred miles, he was nothing less than that.

“I’m doing all this,” John said, “so no other parent will ever have to again. They’re close to finding a cure for this. Won’t that be the day?”

If you would like to donate to the Will Kelley foundation visit: www.teamintraining.org.