'Walking for Ben' event Saturday 'Walking for Ben' event Saturday (May 05, 2004)

By Jonas Raab
Special to the Almanac

The McGovern family of Atherton will host "Walking For Ben," a 2.5-mile walk on Saturday, May 8, at Burgess Park in Menlo Park in memory of Ben McGovern, who died in 1999, three months before his third birthday, of a rare form of leukemia.

The walk, which will raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, starts at 11 a.m. and culminates with live entertainment and a free barbecue. Football Hall of Famer Y.A. Tittle of Atherton, Coach Ben Parks and former 49er star Ronnie Lott are scheduled to participate.

The event was started by Jim McGovern of Atherton in memory of his grandson Ben, who died of megakaryoblastic leukemia. At that time only six other children in the United States had been diagnosed with the same form of leukemia, the family said.

The McGovern family made a plea to the community for blood donations to find a match for Ben's bone marrow transplant, said Emily McNaughton, a spokeswoman for Walking for Ben. The response was so strong it created a three-week waiting list in San Mateo County for blood donation appointments, she said.

A donor was found for Ben's transplant, but the second chemo treatment left his young body too weak to undergo such a serious operation. Ben was released from the hospital on New Year's Eve, 1998, and died four days later at home with his parents.

Saturday's event is co-sponsored by Nordstrom, the Rotary District 5150, Mollie Stone's Markets, Cashin Realty, Coldwell Banker, the San Francisco Giants and the Stanford Park Hotel.

For more information or to sign up for the walk, go to www.walkingforben.org.

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