'She was always spreading hope'

Laurie Whitt, whose personal fight against cancer didn't stop her from helping others with the disease, died April 28 at her Maple Grove home.

Whitt, a leader at the Minnesota affiliate of Susan G. Komen For The Cure organization, was 47.

She survived cancer for nearly 13 years, enduring numerous surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy.

"It was never about her; it was about the other people suffering from the disease," said Patty Clark of Eden Prairie, who with Whitt was co-chairwoman of the breast cancer survivor committee for the Race for the Cure.

For many years, Whitt coordinated the race's volunteers. She taught them that no matter how menial the task, they were helping the cause and lifting the spirits of cancer survivors.

"She just had a way with people, and she was always spreading hope," Clark said.

Whitt kept a busy schedule, raising her two daughters, socializing with her many friends, and doing volunteer work. But in all things she did, laughter was mandatory, said Clark.

"Her goal was to make the race special," said Clark.

David Egan, co-executive director of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, said she had a strong will, and got an "unimaginable" amount of things done for the race.

"If she wanted to handle survivor activities a certain way, she handled it that way," said Egan. "She was a closer.

"Laurie Whitt just refused to let the disease rule her life. You would not know if you walked in off the street that she was sick. She just defied it," he said.

For a dozen years, Whitt was a parent volunteer at Maple Grove's Fernbrook Elementary School, where her children once attended school.

"She was always putting everybody else ahead of herself," said Joelson.

Whitt, a native of Hinckley, Ill., is survived by her husband, Michael, of Maple Grove; daughters Ashley and Michelle, both of Maple Grove; her parents, Lawrence and Dolores Wilkening of Hinckley, Ill.; her brother, Rick, of Hinckley, Ill., and her sister, Dewie Francis of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina.