By Mary O’KEEFE

“I would like to spell her name in roses,” said La Crescenta resident Sean MacGowan.

He was talking about his future goals for the Holly Smith MacGowan Foundation he started after his beloved wife lost her battle with cancer in April 2019.

Sean only recently created the Foundation in memory of his wife. He said he is grounding the Foundation in four specific areas: cancer awareness, beautification of La Crescenta, diversity and inclusion programs and helping women who are battling cancer while continuing to be in the workplace.

Holly had pancreatic cancer and her battle inspired Sean, who has followed the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, to get the word out about this type of cancer and those who are diagnosed.

“There are so many [different] needs,” he said of those diagnosed. “What one person needs may not be what another person needs.”

Since the Foundation was recently created, he has focused most of his energy on the goal of La Crescenta beautification. He contacted Caltrans and through its Adopt-A-Highway program adopted the strip of the 210 Freeway from Lowell Avenue to Ocean View Boulevard to clean in his wife’s name.

The Adopt-A-Highway program requires those who adopt to clean the specific area at least 24 times each year for five years. At the pace he is on now Sean will go well beyond the annual 24 times. He and other Foundation volunteers can be seen cleaning the off-ramps along the 210 on weekends. Last Saturday he and another of his volunteers joined Steve Pierce and members of the CVW staff to clean the La Crescenta Avenue off-, and on-ramps. This is a service Pierce has performed once a month for almost a decade.

“I think La Crescenta is already cleaner than most [areas],” Sean added.

But there was still a lot of litter that was found resulting from people who throw about everything out of car windows, from cigarette butts to numerous plastic cups. On Saturday Sean found several long pieces of steel that appeared to have fallen off a truck and were left on the road, which was a danger for any vehicle that may have run over them.

In addition to litter cleanup, Caltrans offers another program to plant wildflowers, or California native flowers, along the freeway. This is something that Sean’s Foundation is looking into for the future, with his dream to have Holly’s name represented in a small area.

His Foundation is in its infancy but his plans are strong to keep his wife’s name remembered. Holly and Sean were together for about five years but only married a month before she passed died. To Sean, they were a couple, married or not, and he stood by her through thick and thin because “I loved her so much.”

“[Holly] was an accountant,” Sean said. “She always took charge, took the lead.”

Her struggles with cancer crept into every aspect of her life. She had a Whipple procedure, which is a complex operation that is most often used in treating pancreatic cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic. The side effects can be devastating including increased stomach pain.

She also struggled from anxiety and, coupled with the side effects from her cancer, things were difficult for her. Sean eventually wants the Foundation to be able to help those dealing with cancer, and everything that goes along with that, including those who are struggling to get treatment and dealing with side effects while continuing in their careers.

Anyone who would like to volunteer for the Holly Smith MacGowan Foundation Adopt-A-Highway program can contact Sean at macgowansean9@gmail.com.