By Chris Spangler
Registration is underway for the inaugural Lemke Legacy 5k run/walk to take place in Fort Atkinson Saturday, Aug. 21, at Fort Atkinson’s Jones Park and its Glacial River Trail.
Hosted by Hannah Filipiak of Beloit and Rose Filipiak of Oshkosh, the free, public event is slated for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
It is being held in memory of Jim and Nedra Lemke of Fort Atkinson, who were fatally wounded on June 16, 2020, outside of the Town of Sumner home of her late father.
The Lemkes had gone to the farm to mow the lawn and were ambushed in the driveway. Nedra’s brother, Kevin Anderson, has been charged in connection with the murders and remains at large.
The run/walk will be an out-and-back trek on the Glacial River Trail, starting across from Jones Park. Volunteers are needed to help with registration, organizing potluck food, and manning the race route.
Funds raised at the event will be go to the youth group at Faith Community Church to provide scholarships for students’ participation in youth group trips and retreats.
For many years, the Lemkes were youth leaders at the Fort Atkinson church, impacting the lives of many youth, families and other youth leaders. They also were avid runners.
When the Lemkes lost their lives in June of last year, the Filipiaks said, they decided to organize this run/walk as a fitting way to remember them and pass on part of their legacy.
“Rose and I grew up attending Faith Community Church (FCC) in Fort Atkinson” Hannah said. “We first knew Jim and Nedra when they were among the youth leaders we had at youth group. I was in Nedra’s small group one or both of my seventh- and eighth-grade years, and Jim taught the Sunday School class I went to.”
When Hannah was in high school, the Lemkes both participated/sat in on the high school Sunday school and retreats, and were adult leaders for the Lithuania mission trip one of the years she went, she noted.
“When I was in college, I sought to have a mentor — someone who could meet with me and be a kind of life coach mixed with spiritual advisor,” Hannah recalled. “Nedra ended up being that person. We would go on walks, get lunch together, chat about life and God. We also served together at church for Vacation Bible School.”
Calling the Lemkes “the first couple who felt like ‘extra parents’ to me,” Hannah said that for her, Rose and many others, the Lemkes were wonderful role models.
“They were solidly grounded in the word of God and lived what they believed,” she recalled. “They loved people and invested in people’s lives, particularly to the middle school youth group kids. Jim taught us, in word and deed, both what it meant to revere God and to be goofy. Nedra was a gifted artist, a loving and tender mom figure … and many times was secretly the person behind pranks and silliness. They were also business owners and beneficial members of the local community.”
In addition, Hannah said, the Lemkes were runners, with Jim running ultra-marathons. In fact, in 2016, he was a finisher in the Gnarly Bandit Ultra Series, which consisted of four 100-mile and one 100k races in one season in Wisconsin.
“When Rose and I picked up running a handful of years ago, we would ask Jim for tips,” she said. “In races, Jim encouraged others and sometimes picked another runner to run with. I believe I can safely say we are among the many who would say, ‘I want to be like Jim and Nedra when I grow up.’”
Hannah noted that within a week of the Lemkes’ deaths, she and Rose started planning a 5k run/walk in their memory.
“It is a fitting way to remember them,” she said, adding that an informal and last-minute 5k was held in 2020, but they wanted to do something larger this year, with plenty of time for runners and volunteers to sign up and indicate whether they would like a commemorative T-shirt.
The registration form for the 5k run/walk participants and volunteers is available at https://forms.gle/uVdtK1eKzrab2XTB8.
Registration fees for run/walk participants and volunteers are: Lemke Legacy T-shirt, $12 for one person, $24 for two people, $36 for three people, $45 for four to five people and $60 for six to eight people. Persons may donate more than this amount if they wish.
The fee covers the T-shirt cost and a small donation to the Legacy Fund.
Check-in and T-shirt pickup for the 10 a.m. run/walk that Saturday is from 9 to 9:55 a.m. All participants (or parents/guardians of participants) will be required to sign a 5k run/walk release/waiver.
Hannah said that persons who do not wish to participate or volunteer in the run/walk, but who still wish to give a donation, certainly may do so at https://gofund.me/a9b87404. A $1,000 goal has been set.
The Lemke Legacy includes a post-run/walk potluck and Nedra’s home-baked cinnamon rolls that she would bake periodically for the high school and middle school Sunday School classes, as well as water and lemonade.
Funds raised will be given to the Faith Community Church youth group as “scholarship”-type money to help students pay for participation in trips and retreats.
In addition, a potluck will be held in the Jones Park shelter after the race. Participants are asked to bring a main dish or side dish to pass.
Persons seeking more information may contact Hannah at filipiakh24@gmail.com.
Jim and Nedra Lemke.
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