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Remembering South Elgin boy, myocarditis fundraiser close to goal

Rhett Lundy's parents spent the fourth anniversary of his death in very different ways: his mother, Vickie, with a quiet day off from work, his father, Steve, busying himself with his second job as a library security guard.

Five days later, on Saturday, the Lundys and their older son, Ryne, 22, were under the same roof, equally moved by the support the community continues to show them during the annual "Paint the Town Rhett" fundraiser in Elgin.

The 14-year-old boy was a student and drum line member at South Elgin High School when he suddenly died in his sleep May 15, 2013, from cardiac arrhythmia due to myocarditis, an inflammation and damage of the heart muscle.

The crowd included at least a dozen Elgin firefighters who came to support the family and Steve Lundy, who's been a firefighter for 25 years.

"(The grief) never gets easier, but it will always change," Steve Lundy said. "It's overwhelming to have all the support of family and friends."

Now in its fourth year, the fundraiser held at the Elgin Moose Lodge seeks to establish a $40,000 Rhett P. Lundy memorial research grant via the Myocarditis Foundation. It included silent auction and a raffle for a Chicago Blackhawks jersey autographed by Jonathan Toews.

The goal is near, said Vickie Lundy, who has spearheaded the effort.

"After this, we should be in the $30,000 range," she said. "Next year will be the fifth and last year. Or I hope it is, because this is a lot of work."

Rhonda Acitelli of Elgin said her friend Vickie Lundy's dedication to spreading awareness about myocarditis has been "amazing." The foundation estimates that five to 20 percent of cases of sudden death in young adults are due to the disease.

"What she's done with this, and all the time she has put into it ..." Acitelli said. "It's really an endeavor."

Lake in the Hills resident Karen Males found out about the fundraiser on a myocarditis Facebook page. Her younger brother Dan Solomon Jr. died of the disease in 2011.

"I think it's really cool," she said. "I'm hoping more people will find out about it so that they can help more people."

Participants got lunch and a chance to paint two fence panels each, with inspiration provided by an image of the Ponce De Leon Inlet Lighthouse in Florida, where Rhett, his mother and a friend of Rhett's spent a memorable vacation after the boys graduated from the 8th grade.

Ryne said he and Rhett had just begun to establish a closer relationship when Rhett died.

"You can tell from this the love that (my mother) had for my brother. How much she cared," Ryne said. "This a way of keeping his memory alive."

  Allie, 9, and Gabe, 7, Marella of Rockton check out the silent auction at the "Paint the Town Rhett" fundraiser Saturday in Elgin. Photo by Elena Ferrarin/staff photographer
  John Duerr of West Chicago reads about myocarditis and the late Rhett Lundy of South Elgin at a fundraiser Saturday in Elgin. Photo by Elena Ferrarin/staff photographer
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