Friends Honor Dying Friend's Last Wish With Benefit for Family

Caption: Brian Volkman with wife, Liz, daughters Maggie and CeCe, and walking along the beach. A benefit will be held for the late Volkman’s family this Saturday, May 30, at 115 Bourbon Street.

A group of childhood friends who grew up together, incuding many in St. John Fisher Parish, are honoring a friend’s dying wish by holding a benefit for his family this Saturday at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park.

Brian Volkman was 40 when he passed away in September 2014. The son of a Chicago cop and nurse, Volkman grew up on 103rd Place in West Beverly. He became a prosecutor for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and was also a college professor. He was working at the George Leighton Criminal Court Building at 26th and California when he became ill.

“I don’t remember when I met Brian because he lived behind me and was always there,” friend Steve Urbon said. “My memory just kicks in. I do remember him giving me chicken pox when we were six.”

Brian Cotter is another life-long friend and part of the St. John Fisher group. He and Volkman also attended Marist High School together.

“We’ve all known each other since we were five,” Cotter said. “We still remain friends 35 years later.”

Volkman was a dogged prosecutor and highly respected throughout the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. He was known for his toughness in going after violent criminals and deadbeat parents.

“We received a message from a woman he worked with in recovering child support,” Cotter said. “She was so grateful for everything that Brian had done.”

Volkman was also a loving husband to wife, Liz, and doting father to daughters Maggie, 4, and Cece, 2. Cotter joked that his friend never backed away from changing a dirty diaper.

“All Brian cared about was his three girls,” Cotter said. “He loved hanging out in the backyard with his kids. He was so good at parenting and so involved in his daughters’ lives. He was a jack of all trades in terms of parenting.”

A non-smoker, Volkman was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer last year. He died within six months of his diagnosis on September 7, 2014.

“When the cancer got really bad he kept his spirits up for his daughters,” Urbon said. “You could see that he was really sick, but he kept his daughters hopeful, happy and smiling.”

Local businesses, friends and family of the Volkman Foundation, schools and professional sports teams have generously donated items for the silent auction and raffles, including a week’s stay at a Disney resort in Orlando, Taylor Swift and Grateful Dead tickets, a golf trip to Naples, FL, with a stay at the Ritz, and signed sports jerseys.

An assortment of baskets including cycling accessories, food items, oils and more will also be available to bid on in the silent auction.

Volkman lived in Brookfield with his family, but his heart never strayed far from West Beverly where he spent his childhood and teen years.

“Brian never would have wanted a benefit. When he was sick and dying, he made us promise to take care of his girls,” Cotter said. “We’re fulfilling a promise to a loyal friend. He would do it for us so we’re doing it for him.”

A portion of the proceeds from Saturday’s benefit will go to Volkman’s family to help with outstanding medical bills and his daughters’ college education.

The remainder will go toward the Volkman Foundation, whose overall purpose is to provide financial assistance to families, not limited to the family of Brian Volkman, due to financial hardship caused by health or life changing event.

For more information about the benefit, visit the Volkman Foundation, and like them on Facebook.

The benefit for Brian Volkman runs from 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 30, at 115 Bourbon Street, 3359 W. 115th St., Merrionette Park. Tickets are $35. The benefit features food, raffles, and a silent auction. For more information visit The Volkman Foundation.

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