Link: http://www.lakeelmoleader.com/articles/index.cfm?id=7880&section=Community

Lemonade legacy

Abby Lindekugel Lake Elmo Leader
Published Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Seven-year-old Kyle Tierney died March 27, but his legacy lives on.

Diagnosed at the age of 2 with a type of cancer called ependymoma, Kyle passed with his family, according to the family blog, www.kyletierney.com.

One of his last wishes when he was alive was to have a lemonade stand, which his family provided him with last summer. Kyle told his cousin Ann about his wish, who in turn told her employer, Ed Gorman.

Long-time family friend Ed Gorman, who owns Gorman’s Restaurant in Lake Elmo, offered the family prime lemonade stand real estate at Gorman’s, even donating the lemonade and supplies.

This year, the family is doing it again, in memory of Kyle, Saturday, Aug. 9.

Although it rained last year, and the stand was moved inside the restaurant, it is safe to say that Kyle’s lemonade stand must have been one of the most profitable in the history of Lake Elmo. Rick Tierney, Kyle’s father, estimated they raised $3,000 at the stand.

Proceeds from the lemonade stand went to toys for children in Children’s Hospital’s oncology unit. Kyle is described by many, in comments on the family blog, as a caring young man who was always looking to make others happy. Kyle made it clear that he wanted to help other children, something his family is continuing as well.

“It’s more to allow the hospital to buy new things,” said Tierney. He continued from personal experience, “You are there so long and the kids get sick of the same stuff. Then, you go back in a couple of months and it’s the same stuff. It’s nice for the hospital to have new things.”

Gorman was interested in helping the young man achieve his dream of helping others.

“We’ve known the family and we’ve known their struggles. When Kyle’s tumor came back the last time, they knew it was going to be bad, and they asked him what he wanted to do,” Gorman said. “He said he wanted to have a lemonade stand and a garage sale. Where you or I would want to go to Disneyland or Las Vegas, he just wanted simple things.”

Kyle poured lemonade with a smile for two hours last Aug. 18.

“It will be a lot different this year, because he was the one that sat out there and took money and asked if people wanted lemonade,” said Tierney.

This year, his younger brother Ryan will do the pouring.

“In talking to the family recently, we told them that if they wanted to do the lemonade stand, we would provide that on an annual basis,” Gorman said.

The family wrote on the blog, “This was Kyle’s dream for those kids and we hope to continue it for a long time.”

Proceeds will again go to sick children at Children’s Hospital.

The family still appeared in the planning stages of the stand earlier this week. No time was listed for the event, but it will be held Saturday, Aug. 9, at Gorman’s Restaurant off of Highway 5 in Lake Elmo, 11011 Stillwater Blvd. N.