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Public funeral planned for Terry Fox's mother

The Canadian Press Published Wednesday, June 22, 2011 6:47AM EDT

Rolly and Betty Fox at the permanent marker of where Terry began his Marathon of Hope 30 years ago, in St. John's, N.L. on Monday, April 12, 2010. (Paul Daly / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Text:

PORT COQUITLAM, B.C. - Terry Fox's mother will be remembered this weekend at a public funeral in British Columbia.

Betty Fox died last Friday at the age of 73 in Chilliwack, B.C.

A funeral is planned this Saturday afternoon at Trinity United Church in Port Coquitlam.

The family expects a large audience and is asking members of the public who want to attend to RSVP in advance.

Betty Fox's second-eldest son, Terry, was a cancer survivor who vowed to raise money for research by running across Canada in 1980, but his Marathon of Hope ended when his cancer returned and he died June 28, 1981.

For more than three decades, Betty Fox kept her son's cancer-fighting legacy alive by organizing runs, raising funds and playing a role in the opening of a foundation and research institute.