WNBA: Kim Perrot

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Link to a nice montage tribute photo

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Kim Perrot

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WNBA OBITUARY
Hometown says goodbye to Kim Perrot

LOUISIANA La. -- More than a thousand people filed through a church here yesterday to pay last respects to Kim Perrot, the diminutive Houston Comets point guard who died of cancer last week at age 32.

A Lafayette native, Perrot lay in state in an open casket draped with red and white roses as friends, fans, her former teachers and teammates passed by prior to an afternoon funeral Mass.

Tributes echoed those at a memorial a day earlier in Houston. Admirers spoke of the 5-foot-5 Perrot's generous heart and competitive spirit that won her a spot on Comets coach Van Chancellor's roster despite his initial misgivings about her size and playing style.

Perrot went on to help the Comets win two WNBA championships.

"She was a competitor. She was tough. It affected the people around her. She had an effect on this community like no other person," said Olympic track and field star Hollis Conway, a classmate of Perrot's for four years at the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

"I want everybody to remember her for who she was, a wonderful person who wanted to give back to the community," said Perrot's sister, Loretta Perrot.

Before and after her diagnosis last February, Perrot made more than 200 public appearances, often at schools, where she stressed the importance of working hard to achieve lifelong goals.

Chancellor and Comets players attended the funeral at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church. An estimated 1,500 people filed in and out of the church and past the rose-draped casket prior to the Mass.

Near the casket was a spray of flowers, red roses forming Perrot's No. 10 against a backdrop of white roses.

Friends and family wore red roses and white patches with the number 10 printed on them.

The rest of the associated Press story

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KIM’S PLACE
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER


A PROJECT OF THE HOUSTON COMETS AND THE CLUTCH CITY FOUNDATION

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Standing only 5-4 as the Houston Comets starting point guard, Kim Perrot helped lead Houston to its first two WNBA championships - in 1997 and 1998. In February 1999, Kim was diagnosed with lung cancer. She passed away in August of the same year.

Before she passed away, the Houston Comets informed Kim of their desire to honor her and the courageous battle she was waging against cancer. Because Kim had become such a role model to children and to those who were battling illness, the decision was made to build a facility in her honor where families and teens battling cancer could go to play, learn and visit with others facing similar challenges. Kim expressed her gratitude to the organization and to fans for wanting to honor her in such a way, and she loved the idea of creating a place that would take children and families away from the heartache associated with hospital visits.

Artist rendering of the entrance to Kim's Place.


The Houston Comets, together with The Clutch City Foundation, held a series of fundraising events solely for the purpose of raising the necessary funds for building Kim’s Place. In July 2000, the Comets organization announced plans to establish and endow Kim’s Place at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and pledged $1.25 million for construction costs, including build-out and furnishings, and to establish an endowment. As agreed with M. D. Anderson Cancer center, Kim's Place is scheduled to open by December 2002.

CURRENT STATUS
Architectural drawings of Kim’s Place are now complete and final decisions are being made on interior designs and furnishings. If construction remains on target, Kim’s Place will open its doors in December of this year. With the help of adolescent focus groups and hard work by the facility’s design team and the faculty of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, the completed facility will address the needs unique to adolescents, while offering the important services provided by M. D. Anderson.


Kim Perrot
Located off a light-filled atrium lobby area on the second floor of the Albert B. and Margaret M. Alkek Hospital, Kim’s Place will have a unique entrance designed to invite adolescent cancer patients – as well as young adults who have family members with cancer— into one location with social, educational, and recreational services. Teens and their families will be able to enjoy the special amenities of Kim’s Place, while receiving treatment or during extended hospital stays. Kim’s Place will have a multi-media center with Internet access and the capabilities to operate CD’s, videos and computer software. A recreational area will provide a host of state-of-the-art equipment, including commercial video games, a jukebox, a pool table and lounging areas for youth and their families. Kim’s Place will include a theatre room, which will be used for group meetings, family counseling sessions or just as an area for teens to relax and watch movies. A kitchenette will also be included and will be stocked with complimentary snacks and drinks for all guests of Kim’s Place.

A key component of Kim’s Place will be a series of displays dedicated to the life of Kim Perrot. Upon entering Kim’s Place, guests will be welcomed by a 6-foot wall collage filled with photographs of Kim. Other display cases will include photographs and memorabilia from Kim’s career with the Houston Comets. These displays will communicate the determination, the courage, and the love and compassion that Kim gave to her teammates and her fans during her lifetime and, hopefully, will serve as inspiration for the teens undergoing treatment at M. D. Anderson.

Once complete, Kim’s Place will be a source of true joy for teens and families for years to come and will represent a lasting tribute to the amazing heart and spirit of a remarkable woman who touched many lives.

KIM'S PLACE
Upon entering Kim’s Place, guests will be welcomed by a 6-foot wall collage filled with photographs of Kim. Other display cases will include photographs and memorabilia from Kim’s career with the Houston Comets.