CONTRIBUTED PHOTO The Second Annual Connor J. 5K Run/Walk Scholarship Fundraiser will take place Sunday at East Marshall High School. It will be a time to honor the memory of Connor James McCrary, 16, a sophomore who was killed in a car accident on Feb. 2, 2018.

LE GRAND — The Second Annual Connor J. 5K Run/Walk Scholarship Fundraiser will take place Sunday at East Marshall High School. It will be a time to honor the memory of Connor James McCrary, 16, a sophomore who was killed in a car accident on Feb. 2, 2018.

“He was always happy — an all-around good kid, always cheering people on,” Linda Puumala, who is involved with planning, said. “You never had to worry about him.”

Puumala said after Connor’s passing, a group of parents got together with the idea of establishing a scholarship fund and annual 5K run/walk.

“We wanted his memory to go on,” she said.

Connor, who was from Montour, is the son of Sandra (Gooding) and Darcy Rasmussen and Michael McCrary. An active teenager, he was a member of a variety of clubs, groups and teams including Cross Country, Central Iowa Sharpshooters, choir, band, large group speech, individual speech, theater and the Talented and Gifted Program (TAG).

He worked at McNally’s Grocery Store and Hy-Vee in Grinnell. He liked hunting, fishing, woodworking, trap shooting, running, biking, riding the four wheeler, home remodeling and working on the farm.

Registration/check-in will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome. The race will start at 5 p.m. Funds raised from each 5K run/walk benefit students in need.

“Teachers and staff put forth names of students that exemplify what Connor was all about, and then the family decides which people to give some of the funding to each year,” Puumala said. “The scholarship fund will go until 2020 — when he would have graduated.”

Six students from the class of 2018 each received $200 for his or her post secondary plans last year.

Checks may be made payable to the East Marshall Scholarship Foundation, mailed to the attention of Tani Lane, 1014 Ratcliffe Drive, Marshalltown, Iowa 50158. Deadline for mail in is April 25. Those not able to participate, but still wanting to donate, may send money to the address listed above.

The cost for students is $10, adults $20 and a family $40.

Awards for winners of each age bracket and for overall best flannel costume will be given out.

“Connor loved flannel,” she said.

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Contact Sara Jordan-Heintz at

641-753-6611 or

sjordan@timesrepublican.com