Mario's Second Miracle

That amazing three-point shot sent the University of Kansas men’s basketball squad into an overtime victory and left a sporting legacy with the Jayhawk nation. More quietly, however, Chalmers has left a different, equally vital legacy in the form of a small store at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, where he has chosen to honor a family friend and her personal battle with cancer.

With a $25,000 donation from the Mario V. Chalmers Foundation, “Mario’s Closet” opened in July 2011. Located in the main lobby of Lawrence Memorial Hospital, the store features gift items with an emphasis on accessories for cancer victims. The store has one goal: to help make cancer patients feel like themselves again.

It is a mission rooted in Chalmers’ childhood and the experience of Pauline Peterson, known to all as “Miss Pauline” and the mother of one of his best friends. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998 and died from the disease in November 2006. “Miss Pauline was always there for me and always had a kind spirit,” Chalmers says. “I also remember that she always had words of wisdom. She was like a second mother to me.”

Robert “Pete” Peterson, Pauline’s husband, says Chalmers is the one who had the project in his mind. No one told him to do it. “Young people generally don’t think about doing things of that nature,” Peterson says. During Pauline’s illness—when both families lived in Alaska and Mario was still playing basketball with the YMCA—the two families, already close, grew even closer. The Chalmers’ family stepped in and helped with the Peterson children while Pauline was undergoing a bone marrow transplant out of state. Peterson says Mario’s Closet is a great way to help people who are going through a tough time and navigating new territory. “When you’re sick, it is a crisis,” Peterson says. “You don’t know where it will take you.”

Allyson Leland, director of volunteer services at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, says the Chalmers family continues to stay involved and check in with the shop. Chalmers’ mother, Almarie, has visited the store several times. Others have rallied to support the store’s mission.

Many of the volunteers at Mario’s Closet are either cancer survivors or have been touched by cancer. Leland says the store’s customers find support from these volunteers and often stop by simply to talk. “We didn’t plan for this to happen, but people come and tell their stories, and that has been a real benefit,” notes Leland. “I say this to everybody. It’s not so much about the bottom line, it’s about the one person who walks through the door and needs us.”

Supporting others was important to Miss Pauline. Peterson says that even when his wife was being treated in the hospital, the tough Air Force veteran would encourage him to go talk with other patients because she was worried that many were without family. “She would tell me, ‘Just go say hi,’” says Peterson. It has been difficult for Peterson losing his wife of 24 years. “I had to rebuild,” he says. “Because when you lose that half, that is a lot to lose.” But he is comforted by the tribute to Pauline represented by Mario’s Closet. “She would think it was fantastic, that it was God-sent help for people who need it,” Peterson says, adding that his wife would also be proud of Mario’s role in it. “He’s doing things not just to make money for himself. He’s doing this to help other folks, and that is what she would appreciate.”