Lilburn Mom in Sixth Year of Koman 3-Day Walk

Judy Narde isn't walking for herself.

She's walking for her friends and family and people she doesn't even know. That's the beauty of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk. It brings together people of all walks of life for one main cause -- breast cancer awareness.

For Narde, a Lilburn resident who has lived in Gwinnett County since 1996, it was a family friend and a sister-in-law who were diagnosed the same day seven years ago that prompted her to do her first walk.

"The two of them are fine, but of course, when you get involved you meet so many more people," said Narde, 48, who is participating in her sixth walk this year.

Then, someone in her church died -- on the woman's birthday, her cousin had a mastectomy the week before Narde's first 3-Day, and one of her teammates died the year she walked in Boston.

The woman -- Marilyn Cook -- was a teammate in the Atlanta 3-Day in 2007. Three years later, she lost her battle to breast cancer. "She always rocked a pink boa," Narde said.

So, now: "That walk and every one since, I carry a pink feathered boa, and I watch feathers fly in the breeze as I walk. I know she is cheering us on from her heavenly home."

Read the rest of the story on Lilburn-Mountain Park Patch

To support Judy Narde's fundraising efforts and to see more about her story, check the 2012 Tampa Bay 3-Day event site.