Supporters will walk the walk

Larry Gilligan has a reputation at Westborough's Gibbons Middle School for never forgetting a name and always remembering to say hello. The assistant principal has been a fixture at school events, even taking part in a play.

Gilligan is on leave now, battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

His devotion to his students is being returned at the initiative of one of their parents, who has helped organize a walk in Gilligan's honor Saturday to benefit the ALS Association's Massachusetts chapter.

''I really feel like he made a big impact on the school and my son," said Brenda Hayes, whose son, Ian, was in the play with Gilligan two years ago. ''It makes a difference when kids see their teachers care about extracurricular activities."

Gilligan, who is 37 and the father of two young boys, was diagnosed with ALS last November.

It will be the fourth tribute to Gilligan this year when he pulls the trigger of the starting pistol for the annual Walk to D'Feet ALS. The 3.5-mile walk will begin at Westborough High School and wind its way through downtown.

But family and friends say Gilligan isn't participating in the walk to call attention to his personal plight -- he is doing it to raise awareness of a fatal disease for which there is no cure.

''This has been the hardest thing for him because he's always been the one to help others. The one thing he wants to get across to everybody is he doesn't want the outpouring to end with him," said one of Gilligan's two younger brothers, Tom, who will walk with a team dubbed Gilligan's Nittany Lions to pay homage to Gilligan's alma mater, Pennsylvania State University.

More than 300 people on 35 teams from Westborough and surrounding communities have signed up for the walk, said Michael Lembo, special events and marketing coordinator for the ALS Association. Among the walkers are Gilligan's friends, relatives, fellow educators, parents, police officers, and town officials.

As of Monday, roughly $10,000 had been raised by all 25 Westborough walk teams, Lembo said. That's more than half of the event's typical total collection. ''I think we're going to shatter the record this year," Lembo said.

All of the money raised by walkers is given to the ALS Association and divided among patient care in Massachusetts and research efforts at the national level.

The Westborough walk is an offshoot of the main event, a 3.5-mile walk that takes place on Oct. 15 in Wakefield and typically nets more than $100,000 in donations. Last year's satellite event took place in Shrewsbury.

Hayes, whose husband is high school art teacher John Hayes, suggested Westborough as the new location -- and Gilligan as the grand marshal -- in the spring, soon after learning of Gilligan's diagnosis.

''We've been down this road. We know what they are going to go through. We needed to help," said Hayes, whose brother-in law, Jimmy Hayes succumbed to ALS 12 years ago after a 13-year battle.

No one is more taken aback by the generosity of Westborough than Gilligan and his wife of nine years, Bonnie. The couple has two sons, 8-year-old Daniel and 6-year-old Michael.

''When he was working, it was just overwhelming what they were doing for us," Bonnie Gilligan said. ''He doesn't like the spotlight on himself."

Gilligan, who is on a medical leave this year, was hired in July 2002, when Edward Sullivan retired after more than 30 years with the school system, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Les Olson said.

Gilligan came to Westborough from Selinsgrove, Pa., where he was a middle school assistant principal.

Gilligan, a Malden native who now lives in Charlton, has made quite an impression in his three short years in Westborough. His favorite saying has become legendary at the school: ''Make it a great day."

''Larry came here with some tough shoes to fill. He just fit right in," said Bruce Tretter, a Westborough School Committee member who will join in the walk.

''He just has an excellent ability to engage the kids. He can identify with them," said Tretter, whose son, Max, is an eighth-grader at the middle school.

''There's a lot of kid in him," Tretter said of Gilligan. ''I'm hopeful that that helps him get through it."

The parents and colleagues who took to Gilligan -- known for his dry sense of humor and love of the Patriots, Red Sox, and Penn State teams -- have already organized one fund-raiser, a bike ride, and an assembly to applaud Gilligan.

Before the end of the school year in May, students and teachers shared stories of Gilligan at a special assembly held at the middle school, said Tretter, who watched as the entire auditorium give Gilligan a standing ovation.

One month later, Gilligan's secretary, Jessica Fox, and two other women organized a dinner, dance, and auction at the Wyndham Westborough that drew almost 400 people and netted $40,000 for the Gilligan family.

Fox said Gilligan's selflessness played a role in her desire to plan the benefit.

''He always felt that he wasn't deserving," Fox said. ''He said there were other people out there that were more deserving."

Five days earlier a 12-member team in Gilligan's name raised more than $5,000 for the ALS Association chapter by participating in The Positive Spin for ALS, a 50-mile bike ride that began in Wayland. One of those team members was Westborough police officer Kristofer Haws, the town's school resource officer. He will also walk on Saturday.

Gilligan was diagnosed with ALS a few months after he started to feel fatigued, Bonnie Gilligan said. The progressive disease attacks motor neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord and eventually leads to paralysis, leaving victims with no ability to walk, talk, swallow, or breathe.

Eleven months after his diagnosis, Gilligan walks with a cane, gets tired easily, has balance issues, and struggles with slurred speech, Bonnie Gilligan said. He has tried several medical and homeopathic remedies to slow the effects of the disease and will soon start taking a trial drug that aims to rebuild destroyed cells.

''His ultimate goal is to be able to live long enough to see the boys graduate from high school," Bonnie Gilligan said.

Tom Gilligan just can't believe his brother, for all his amazing qualities, is the one who got handed the ALS card. Gilligan was a father figure to his siblings when their parents divorced, served as a cubmaster and coach, always stayed out of trouble, and is known as the voice of reason in the family.

''We live in a world where most people focus on the negative. Larry's not like that. He's a glass-is-half-full kind of guy," Tom Gilligan said. ''He always looks for the good in people. And that's what makes this so cruel and ironic -- he's so rare."

Anyone who wants to participate in the walk can sign up at 9 a.m. Saturday at the high school, 90 West Main St., Westborough. Registration is free and there is no minimum donation. The walk starts at 10:30 a.m.