We at Hit Trophy wish to throw our support behind a worthy cause. On February 1, a benefit dinner and silent auction will be held for one of Stryker, Ohio’s finest citizens, Mrs. Beth Morr.
Beth has been a Stryker citizen for a long time. She graduated from Stryker High School back in 1992. While attending high school, Beth was very active. She participated in three sports. During the fall, she played volleyball and was a member of a Regional Championship team that went on to become state semi-finalists. Beth spent her winters playing basketball, and when the spring came, you could find Beth on the softball diamond. Besides sports, she was involved in many extracurricular activities. Yearbook, Students Opposed to Drug and Alcohol (SODA), and Big Brothers/Big Sisters were a few of the groups that kept her busy. She also volunteered to be a teacher’s aide, and she took this experience and decided to become a teacher.
Mrs. Morr has taught at other schools, but she has spent her last few years as a Stryker Elementary teacher and as a high school softball coach. She teaches the early primary grades, and recently the third graders have been under her tutelage. It was while she was teaching the third graders this year that life surprised her with a number of tragic twists.
On November 1, Beth seemed to be suffering from stroke symptoms. At first, her doctors were baffled, but shortly afterward, her doctors claimed she was suffering from Multiple Sclerosis. Then while dealing with the rehab for MS, life threw her another curve. Beth discovered a lump in her left breast. After another round of tests, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, specifically stage III invasive ductile carcinoma which had traveled into her lymph nodes. On January 4, Beth underwent a double mastectomy. She recently started chemotherapy. All of this has happened in less than three months. Yet, all of this tragedy has not changed Beth’s attitude. Even though she is deep in recovery mode, she has volunteered to continue to help at the school a day or two during the school day.
Now, it is time for Hit Trophy and the community to rally around Beth, her husband Tim, and her daughter Kennedy. Teachers and friends are throwing a benefit to help the family with medical costs. A dinner will be served from 4:30 until 6:00 in the Stryker Local School’s Multipurpose Room on February 1 which is before the boys’ basketball game against Fayette. The dinner is a hog roast with all the fixings, and it is being offered as a freewill donation cost. On the same night, a beef raffle will be held, and a number of additional items will be offered during a silent auction. For additional information, be sure to check out the Facebook Page for this event at this link. If you don’t have Facebook, then you can get the information by calling 419-682-0034 or emailing bmorrbenefit@yahoo.com. In addition, a fund has been set up at Farmers and Merchants State Bank if you cannot attend the freewill dinner, yet you wish to donate. Beth also keeps a journal online, and if you would like to send some encouraging words, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/bethmorr.