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Santa Brings Presents, Leaves Legacy To Children of St. Jude
The children of St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital® can't tell you who Kathy and Alan (Al) Westrich are, but they do know Santa and his wife. Don't tell anyone, but they are one in the same.
For the past three years, Al, the retired postmaster of St. Clair, Mo, has portrayed Santa for the children at the Memphis Grizzlies House, a short-term-stay housing facility for St. Jude patients. Last year Kathy, who owns Haire Works beauty salon, joined him as Mrs. Claus, and they also visited the Intensive Care Unit. They brought toys gathered from friends and other donors, including Charles Butler with F&M Bank in St. Clair, the St. Louis Cardinals and Rawlings Sporting Goods.®
"It was a wonderful experience," he says. "It's such a pleasure to see those kids happy."
The Westrichs, married for 26 years, know the joy of children -- together they have seven, along with 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, with a fourth on the way. But Alans support of St. Jude also comes from knowing the pain of losing a child. His son, Kurt, died of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) more than 40 years ago.
"He was an excellent baseball player," Alan recalls. "He was diagnosed in 1962, the same year Danny Thomas opened St. Jude. He died three years later, when he was almost 13."
Partners In Hope for 17 years, Alan and Kathy are very pleased that the survival rate for ALL has risen to 94 percent, as a result of St. Jude research. To ensure that breakthroughs can continue to be made in treating ALL and other catastrophic childhood illnesses, the Westrichs also have chosen to include St. Jude in their will.
"What could be better than to provide something that will grow and help childrens health in the future?" Alan explains. "St. Jude has made so much progress already, and they are just getting started . . . there are so many important illnesses they are working on."
In addition to specifying that a certain amount of money from their estate will go to St. Jude, the couple also has made St. Jude the beneficiary of bonds Al purchased for the building campaign of the local Elks Lodge, where he was an Exalted Ruler several years ago. Along with being active in the Elks, Alan, along with Kathy, sing in their church choir and a community choir, and enjoy golf, fishing, gardening and Cardinals baseball. Kathy loves to do needlework.
They also like to visit St. Jude, having taken several tours in addition to their Santa stops.
"I think people who haven't been there may not realize that it is such an uplifting place to be because the people are so positive," says Kathy. "There is an attitude of yes, we can do this!"
For Al, its important that "the amount of money a patients family has doesnt matter" and patients are not asked to pay what insurance does not cover. "I came from poor surroundings, and I really appreciate that," he says.
He adds that he is impressed by the former patients who now work at ALSAC and St. Jude. During their last visit they met Lindsey Wilkerson, who was treated for ALL at St. Jude from 1991-1994 and is now an Event Liaison Assistant. "She gave Al the biggest hug and said Thank you for saving my life," Kathy says.
"She said it was your support that helped make it possible," Al recalls. "It really got to me."
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