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Wednesday, July 25, 2007
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Woman who battled cancer to be honored at Target Center
Staff Writer A former Pequot Lakes woman who died last November after a courageous 10-year-battle with breast cancer will be honored Tuesday at the Target Center by the Minnesota Lynx and Timberwolves.
Jean (Russell) Stankowski, the daughter of Annette Russell of Merrifield and her late husband, Keith, worked for 16 years as a controller for the Timberwolves and Lynx basketball teams. A 1978 Pequot Lakes High School graduate, Stankowski grew up at her parents' resort, Beacon Shores Resort, in Ideal Township.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 36 and battled the disease for 10 years, including 10 reoccurances of the disease. Her battle ended on Nov. 14, 2006. She was 46 and leaves behind two daughters, Erin Sullivan, 18, and Kaitlin Sullivan, 15. Stankowski also has a sister, Mary Hagen, who lives in Crosslake, and a brother, Jim Russell, who lives in Eden Prairie.
"She was very upbeat, always positive," Russell said of her daughter. "When you talked to her, she tried to make you feel like everything's great, don't worry about it. Her sense of humor was absolutely fantastic, even to her dying day."
Because Stankowski meant a lot to her co-workers at the Timberwolves and Lynx, they wanted to do something to honor her life and memory, said Russell.
Russell said she and her family, along with Stankowski's daughters, will be attending the Tuesday event. She said her daughter did not know about the scholarship when she died but she would have felt honored. She was close to many of her co-workers, including Timberwolves and Lynx players, and enjoyed following the teams.
"For them to turn this into a tribute for her is just so touching," said Russell. "I can't think of anything that would honor her more. To me, all I could think of is here's this gal from Pequot Lakes High School, a little hick town up north, and here the Lynx and Timberwolves are giving a huge tribute to her. What a lasting tribute that is."
From 5:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Lynx will host the first-ever, U.S. Bank Lynx Go Pink benefit at the Target Center in Minneapolis for those affected by breast cancer in Minnesota. The Target Center will be transformed into a pink carnival to raise funds to support the newly created Jean Stankowski Scholarship Fund and the Minnesota Lynx Foundation, which supports breast cancer research and support groups in Minnesota. The carnival will be staffed by Minnesota Lynx players and coaches. This is an opportunity to raise funds and for fans to get autographs and photos.
From 8-8:30 p.m. Tuesday there will be a ceremony to celebrate the first recipient of the $10,000 annual Jean Stankowski Scholarship, congratulate the 2007 Lynx Foundation grant recipient and honor a local woman for her outstanding spirit, according to the Lynx Web site.
Tickets for the Tuesday event are $25. The U.S. Bank Lynx Go Pink package is $35, which will include an event ticket and a ticket to the Aug. 4th Lynx game vs. Houston.
Stankowski was an advocate for post-secondary education opportunities for all and volunteered as a Lynx scholarship selection committee member for many years. (She was the salutatorian for her graduating class at PLHS.) Both the Timberwolves and Lynx wanted to honor Stankowski by founding this scholarship fund in her honor, according to the Lynx Web site. The fund will provide post-secondary education scholarships to Minnesota students directly affected by breast cancer in their immediate family.
For more information about the U.S. Bank Lynx Go Pink event and to purchase tickets, visit the official Lynx Web site at www.wnba.com/lynx/ and click on "Community News," then click on the U.S. Bank Lynx Go Pink event link.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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