'I Hope My Legs Hold': Man, 90, On 3,600-Mile Trek For St. Jude’s

ACROSS AMERICA — Dean Troutman's name is already etched on a park sign in his hometown of Princeville, Illinois, a place just northwest of Peoria with a little over 1,000 residents.

Troutman Park was created in memory of his late wife, Peggy, after he walked 700 miles around Illinois to raise $70,000 for a new playground.

Now, the 90-year-old's walking adventures are helping kids again. Troutman is nearly a month into a 3,600-mile walk through 16 states to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

The ambitious trip is more than four times longer than Troutman's previous treks. He's going for a strong finish.

"I'm looking forward to completing it," he told Patch. "I hope my legs hold up long enough to make it. My 90-year-old legs can quit at any time. I'm hoping every day to be able to go another day." Read the full story on Peoria Patch.

College Student Dies; Caught COVID-19 A Day Before 1st Vaccine

Just two years ago, Neil Chetan Patel was graduating from high school as class president, launching a journey at Penn State University that was centered on band and theatrical performance.

On Sunday, he died from COVID-19 at the age of 20. Patel contracted the virus in March on the day before he was scheduled to receive his first vaccination shot.

"Our son and my dear boy has moved on to his next journey," his father, Chet, said in a post. "The brightest light in our life has moved on from my and Hema's life and I don't know how we will fill the emptiness." Read the full story on Norristown, Pennsylvania, Patch.

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Quotable

"You are the ultimate knuckleheads. And because of what you are saying and standing for, people are losing their [lives]."

- New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to a group of protesters at a news conference, via Newark Patch.

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