Honoring them with his love

Tariq Malik

COSTA MESA - Resident Drew Williams loves his mother and sister.

That love prompted him to run and walk 25 miles to an Irvine coffee

shop on Mother’s Day to honor their memories and raise money to fight

cancer.

At 6 a.m., Williams, 38, trekked from the corner of Placentia Avenue

and Victoria Street to Zanzibar Coffee & Tea, located at the intersection

of Jeffrey Road and Irvine Center Drive, where he works as the general

manager. “He did just great,’ said Skip Williams, Drew’s brother, who

followed along on bike to carry water bottles and energy bars. “People in

marathons train for three months or more, and he had just a few weeks.”

That’s about when the idea of a Mother’s Day run/walk and fund-raiser

came to Drew Williams -- when he realized Mother’s Day was approaching.

His mother, Aileen Williams, 68, died of a heart attack about five

months ago in his family’s hometown of Kingston, Pa. Her death cut deeply

into Drew Williams and his brothers, who have always been, like many

families, a close-knit bunch.

“I was kind of depressed about it coming up without my mother here,

and heard that a friend of mine in Pennsylvania did a walk in honor of

his sister who died of leukemia,” he said, resting bags of ice on his

knees after his journey. “I thought, ‘What a wonderful way to honor a

loved one.”’

Williams’s sister, Lori, died of leukemia in June 1983, only months

after being diagnosed. She was 27.

Williams said he believed his mother would have approved of his

run/walk, especially to raise money to fight the disease that took her

only daughter.

But, he added, it was also self-therapeutic and a chance to remember

the selflessness his mother showed and taught him.

Williams’ friends and co-workers waited for him at Zanzibar coffee,

his destination, to celebrate his run and reminisce about Aileen and Lori

Williams. A photo of his mother was posted in the coffee shop window to

explain the fund-raiser.

“This whole thing is typical of Drew,” said friend Tamara Adams. “He

works to go out of his way for other people.”

Williams said he plans to make the walk for Mom an annual event until

his knees give out, at which point he might ride a bike.

Donations and pledges totaling an estimated $2,000 will be presented

to the Santa Ana-based Leukemia and Lymphoma Society today at his

Zanzibar Coffee & Tea.