Community Corner

Pacing Parson Don Stevenson Raises $8,100 for UW Vision Research

The Bonney Lake Lion's club member last summer walked from Rugby, ND, to Aberdeen, WA, in honor of 12-year-old Nicholas Premo, who was born blind.

Don Stevenson just turned 77 in January, and though it's still months until summer, he's already lining up his 'vacation' plan.

He'll be starting a 7,000 to 8,000 mile walk at the end of June to bring awareness to multiple sclerosis, he told the Bonney Lake Lions Club Thursday.

Having accompanied him on 18 ultra-walking expeditions covering more than 40,000 miles in the last 15 years for 10 different causes, wife Loretta laughs, "we haven't talked about that yet - I might want to do something else," she said.

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But she's clearly proud of her husband's accomplishments. Since 1998, Don has been walking anywhere from 300 miles to 8,000 miles yearly to bring awareness to a variety of causes close to his heart, ranging from MS to Alzheimer's to Huntingon's Disease. For several of Don's walks, Loretta has lovingly collected newspaper clippings and miscellaneous momentos that tell the chronological story behind each of her husband's expeditions and bound them in handmade scrapbooks.

Don retired from Darigold in 1994 and took up walking and meditation in 1996 to stay healthy. He also has seen firsthand how MS can debilitate an otherwise healthy and happy person, she said, and found that walking to bring attention and raise money to fight disease gives him a sense of accomplishment.

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"I love walking and find it invigorating, inspiring, and rewarding in many ways," he wrote in a self-biography. "...God has blessed me with good health and out of gratitude, I've tried sharing that blessing with those who are less fortunate."

On Thursday, Don presented a check for $8,100 that he raised this past summer from a walk between Rugby, ND, and Aberdeen, WA, to Dr. Russell Van Gelder, professor and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Washington to be used for further research in both preventative and restorative work on human eyesight.

UW was specifically chosen because Don dedicated his walk to 12-year-old Nicholas Premo of Bonney Lake, who was born blind and later diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity.

The Stevensons came to know the Premo family when Nicholas' father James was the store manager at Top Foods in Lakeland Hills. James supported Don's many walks over the years and always supplied the local events with food when he could, Loretta said.

When Don last year told James he wanted to walk to honor Nicholas, "I was floored," James said. "He's an angel. I would have given him the whole store."

Nicholas, who attends North Tapps Middle School, can still detect light, said mom Patti, but the family had, after a while become resigned to the reality of his condition, she said.

When the family was trying to help Don decide how best to bring awareness and support the blind, putting the money into research was the best choice, Patti said. As she's learned more about the latest discoveries and innovations, that resignation has changed into cautious optimism. "I think there's a lot more hope," she said.

In his presentation to the Lions about the latest innovations and discoveries in vision science, Van Gelder emphasized that there as been a huge improvement in treatments over the last 150 years for cataracts, macular degeneration and even simple myopia, thanks to ongoing scientific research.

Fundraising efforts like Don's, which he called "heartfelt" and "hard-earned" are indispensible these days as funding cuts are imminent. "This really restores one's faith in humanity," he told the Lions.

As Don neared Snoqualmie Pass on his journey last summer, James said he joined him for four days from near Cle Elum to North Bend, going at a pace of 20 miles a day. Though years younger, he couldn't match Don's stamina. "After four days, I was done," he said.

Naturally, he walks between five to 10 miles a day anyway, Loretta said. "It keeps him healthy."

See More

Auburn man to walk far that others might see (Auburn Reporter)

76 year old attempts to walk half continent blindfolded (KING 5)

The Pacing Parson (Official site for Lion Heart Walking for the Blind)


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