Pat Tillman’s widow ‘amazed’ at org’s growth

Pat Tillman’s widow ‘amazed’ at org’s growth
By Paola Boivin
The Arizona Republic
Posted : Friday Apr 20, 2012

During the extensive coverage that followed Pat Tillman’s death in Afghanistan, it was the face of his widow, Marie, that often stayed with us.

There was grace in her stoicism but profound sadness, too, as her grief played out on a national stage.

How would she move forward?

One part of the answer lies amid a crowd of tens of thousands of people who will inundate Tempe, Ariz., this weekend.

The eighth annual Pat’s Run, which benefits the Pat Tillman Foundation that Marie runs, will take place Saturday. Marie increased her involvement in the organization several years ago when she found herself finally able to reconcile the pain of the past with the promise of the future.

“It took time,” she said. “I certainly needed quite a few years of time and space, and to heal in a way that was right for me.”

Tillman, who walked away from a multimillion-dollar NFL contract with the Arizona Cardinals to join the Army Rangers, was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. He was 27.
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