College fund for Lily, Eve, Anna, and Levi
Donation protected
On February 17, my best friend, and wife for 20 years, Janelle Esau Corkill, passed away after a difficult, and courageous, battle with cancer. One of her life’s crowning achievements was becoming a mother to our four young children - Lily, Eve, Anna, and Levi. Many of you have asked how you can help or if there is a memorial fund in Janelle’s name. This GoFundMe seemed to be the easiest way for me to answer your requests and ask for help and donations to Janelle’s top priority: post-high-school educations for our kids.
Now that our kids are becoming old enough to require less than full-time attention, Janelle was just beginning to turn her focus back to helping other people through charities, church, and school. Some of you were just seeing the skill and compassion Janelle could bring. You were just seeing the sunshine I have enjoyed. From her core, Janelle was a strong supporter of peace, justice, and equality. This was formed, in part, through her early work in inner-city Chicago and the Appalachian Mountains which instilled in her the need for higher education and the value society receives from it. Her steely resolve to beat cancer rarely wavered, but in a few rare moments, we discussed these values, goals, and charities and our commitment to them. In extreme moments of vulnerability, she expressed concern about what life would be like without her for me, for the kids, and "what about college".
I asked several people if this was a selfish thing to ask, for it seems we should be responsible for our own. Janelle and I both put ourselves through college … or so that is how we explained it to a good family friend. His knowing smile made us reconsider that assertion and realize our village helped put us through. The honest answer, for me, was a rare collection of circumstances and generosity from my uncle and parents. For Janelle, it was scholarships, donations from parents and relatives, and loans that burdened us early in our marriage. As Janelle saw firsthand, while working on enrollment calculators at K-State, education is more difficult to attain now than it was for us. So, we began working to keep this goal within reach for our children. Just considering K-States tuition costs of roughly $22,000 / year for four kids was daunting. Now with the loss of Janelle's K-State employment, income, insurance, and employee benefits to children, I struggle to consider this goal and I humbly ask for your help.
Lily, Eve, Anna, and Levi have been deeply touched by your love and support. They have been affected by your generosity and already discuss how this terrible situation could make them helpful to other people. I do not intend to additionally burden the expectations of their future, but Janelle has laid a strong foundation and you have validated it. As many of you have stated, it will now take all of us to raise these kids the way Janelle would have wanted.
You are our village.
Stephen
Now that our kids are becoming old enough to require less than full-time attention, Janelle was just beginning to turn her focus back to helping other people through charities, church, and school. Some of you were just seeing the skill and compassion Janelle could bring. You were just seeing the sunshine I have enjoyed. From her core, Janelle was a strong supporter of peace, justice, and equality. This was formed, in part, through her early work in inner-city Chicago and the Appalachian Mountains which instilled in her the need for higher education and the value society receives from it. Her steely resolve to beat cancer rarely wavered, but in a few rare moments, we discussed these values, goals, and charities and our commitment to them. In extreme moments of vulnerability, she expressed concern about what life would be like without her for me, for the kids, and "what about college".
I asked several people if this was a selfish thing to ask, for it seems we should be responsible for our own. Janelle and I both put ourselves through college … or so that is how we explained it to a good family friend. His knowing smile made us reconsider that assertion and realize our village helped put us through. The honest answer, for me, was a rare collection of circumstances and generosity from my uncle and parents. For Janelle, it was scholarships, donations from parents and relatives, and loans that burdened us early in our marriage. As Janelle saw firsthand, while working on enrollment calculators at K-State, education is more difficult to attain now than it was for us. So, we began working to keep this goal within reach for our children. Just considering K-States tuition costs of roughly $22,000 / year for four kids was daunting. Now with the loss of Janelle's K-State employment, income, insurance, and employee benefits to children, I struggle to consider this goal and I humbly ask for your help.
Lily, Eve, Anna, and Levi have been deeply touched by your love and support. They have been affected by your generosity and already discuss how this terrible situation could make them helpful to other people. I do not intend to additionally burden the expectations of their future, but Janelle has laid a strong foundation and you have validated it. As many of you have stated, it will now take all of us to raise these kids the way Janelle would have wanted.
You are our village.
Stephen
Organizer
Stephen Corkill
Organizer
Olsburg, KS