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STERLING, Ill. (AP) — In Tampico, she's known as "the baseball mom." In Sterling, you'll know her as the children's librarian at Sterling Public Library.
Wherever you know Anita Elgin from, though, it's almost certain that she's made your life a happier one, or at least tried to.
"She's the best person I've ever known," her daughter, Wendi Ketchum, said. "She would do anything for anybody and would give her last penny to someone if they needed it."
This year marks Anita's 40th at the library, where generations of children have gotten to know the sound of her voice as she's paged through countless children's books before rapt audiences of youngsters.
Lately, though, she's been absent. In July 2014, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she is on medical leave from the library.
Most recently, doctor's termed it stage 3, but now, Ketchum said, it's spread much farther, so that diagnosis might need to be updated.
"We're just focusing on making sure she's happy," she said.
Ketchum's family - which includes her husband, Ron, 60; daughters, Wendi, 30, of Tampico, Jamie Mosher, 34, of Rock Falls, and Erin Shank, 31, of Sterling; and seven grandchildren - is planning a benefit and a softball tournament, which is where the "baseball mom" thing comes in.
When Anita isn't at the library, the best place to find her is a baseball diamond.
The Elgins spent the girls' childhoods driving across the country ever summer, following along as Ron played in baseball tournaments all over the place - Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, you name it.
The whole crew is very involved in youth softball and baseball leagues. Each daughter coaches, and Anita, 61, pitches in when needed. She also is a familiar face at Tampico youth league games, where she runs the snack shack and serves on the rec board, heading up the town's baseball and softball programs.
"When she first got diagnosed, she said life threw her a curveball," Wendi said, "and she was going to hit it out of the park."
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Source: The (Dixon) Telegraph, http://bit.ly/1OgdWRd
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Information from: Dixon Telegraph, http://www.saukvalley.com
This is an AP-Illinois Exchange story offered by The (Dixon) Telegraph.
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