A Stillwater woman has been awarded the highest honor the Roman Catholic Church can bestow on laity.
Pope Benedict granted the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal to Dorothy Gerson for her 52 years of service to the Church of St. Michael in Stillwater. The medal, first awarded in 1888, is given in "recognition of distinguished service to the church and the papacy."
Gerson, 86, started working for the church office even before it had an actual office. For the first few years, she did secretarial work out of her house. She has had a variety of positions since, including a 1999 appointment as financial secretary for the parish's special donation projects, a job she still holds.
At 52 years, Gerson is the longest-serving employee in St. Michael's history -- but not by much. She only recently eked past the Rev. Charles Corcoran, who served as the parish priest for 51 years.
A double salute The members of the Minnesota chapter of the Lymphoma Research Foundation are a determined bunch. They are firmly focused on finding a cure for the blood cancer that kills 20,000 people a year. And they are intent on pushing forward no matter what fate throws their way.
That includes this weekend's Sop Hop 5K run and 2-mile walk. It could be a time for melancholy, but organizers are turning it into a day of celebration.
Two years ago, Minnetonka native Mark Sopko died after a 10-year battle against lymphoma. Sopko was an avid runner, so to pay tribute to him, one of his best friends, Michael Schrock, created the Sop Hop.
Schrock recently was killed in a car crash. Instead of scuttling the annual run/walk, the other organizers decided to push ahead with it as a way of honoring both Sopko and Schrock. This year's motto: One great run, two special men.
