July 17, 2009
I Hope You Dance
The Michell Head memorial endowment
By LINDA COX (Catholic Foundation of Southwest Indiana, Inc.)
On Mother’s Day, 2001, Michelle Head spoke to fellow parishioners during Mass at St. Theresa Church about the joys of motherhood. Michelle spoke about her role models, her mother and grandmothers, and her journey from the prior year. Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer in May of 2000 and on this Mother’s Day she spoke of the importance of living each day to the fullest and of celebrating life. That is why she quoted from the song, I Hope You Dance, which says when you have the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance. And dance, she did.
Her close friend, Mary De-weese, says that “Michelle inspired us to live each day to the fullest and as a gift. No one is guaranteed a tomorrow. At any moment, you may be given a new plan. When you do, she said Michelle encouraged her to dance.” Her mother, Karen Brucken, shared that her daughter wanted to try everything including learning to play the guitar, even though she didn’t have a lot of musical ability.
Michelle continued to focus on her family and learned to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. In February of 2004, Michelle tragically lost her battle with breast cancer at the age of 38. Her family and friends wanted Michelle’s name to be remembered and her legacy continued. Today, the Michelle Head Memorial Endowment is doing just that at St. Theresa.
Michelle was the Director of the Child Life Center at ARC when she was diagnosed with cancer. She later was a volunteer with the Susan G. Komen Foundation and was featured in Cure Magazine. Michelle worked closely with the Evansville Vander-burgh schools to see that children with special needs received care. She also had the vision of establishing a preschool program at St. Theresa. It was Michelle’s dream for young children to have a place to learn and develop in a Catholic environment. According to Beth Knapp, “her passion caused the school commission to make sure that this program happened.” Michelle did not live to see the program up and running, it started the year she passed away. The Little Cherubs Preschool program (LCP) continues to be in-strumental to St. Theresa Catholic School. LCP was named for Michelle and Kenny Head’s children, Lauren, Colton and Peyton. Lauren is a recent graduate of Memorial High School, Colton just graduated from St. Theresa School and Peyton will be in the Fifth Grade at St. The-resa. All three of their children attended St. Theresa School.
The family and friends of Michelle wanted her vision to continue with the Preschool program being able to stand on its own. Each year, there is a Valentine’s Day Dance in Michelle’s memory with the theme of I Hope You Dance to help with the support of the program. With the assistance of Deacon Dave Seibert, Michelle’s family and friends wanted the program to receive annual support in perpetuity. The Michelle Head Memorial Endowment was established so that each year, money will be available for the program she had envisioned. Since the endowment has been established, anyone can add to this permanent gift at anytime and in any amount.
To quote Michelle from her Mother’s Day testimonial, “live each day to the fullest as life is short. When you have the important things in your life, God, family, friends and health, you have everything you need. I tell my children to be kind, pray, to do things for others, be happy and I hope you dance.”
If you would like more information on the Michelle Head Memorial Endowment that supports the Little Cherubs Pre-school, please contact St. Theresa Parish or the Catholic Foundation at (812) 424-5536. For more information on establishing an endowment at your parish to honor or memorialize a loved one, you may also contact the Catholic Foundation at their website, www.catholicfoundationswin.org, or by email at lcox@evansville-diocese.org.