Fran Wargolet arrived home in Kenosha at about 2 a.m. Wednesday after four days of hiking through Yosemite National Park.
Fran Wargolet, right, pauses with her daughter, Katrina Wargolet Kyne, and granddaughter, Sophie Kyne, during their four-day ShelterBox USA fundraising trek through Yosemite National Park. The three generations of women hiked approximately 28 miles to raise awareness and support for disaster relief efforts. (Submitted photo)
The 80-year-old Holy Cross parishioner was tired. The California heat had made the climbs more difficult. But after 28 miles on the trail with her daughter and granddaughter, Wargolet returned with another adventure completed — and another chapter in a family tradition of helping others.
For Wargolet, that tradition goes back to her childhood as the youngest of 11 children and to the example set by her parents.
When her father died, Wargolet remembers the family finding a shoebox filled with IOUs accumulated over the years from people he had helped. He had never expected repayment.
Helping someone who needed it was simply what he did.
That example, Wargolet said, helped shape both her Catholic faith and the way she has tried to live her own life.
“We were taught to treat everyone as we would want to be treated,” she said.
That philosophy took Wargolet more than 2,000 miles from Holy Cross this month.
Wargolet, her daughter, Katrina Wargolet Kyne, 52, and granddaughter, Sophie Kyne, 16, participated in a four-day fundraising trek through Yosemite for ShelterBox USA, an international disaster relief organization that provides tents, repair kits, water filters and other essentials to people displaced by disasters and conflict. Wargolet serves as an ambassador for the organization.
The three generations of women began their trek Aug. 7, covering approximately 28 miles and climbing to elevations of more than 7,000 feet.
The heat made hiking difficult, though conditions improved at higher elevations. One memorable respite came with a swim in a glacier-fed lake.
But some of Wargolet’s most meaningful memories of the trip came after the day’s hiking was finished.
One evening around the campfire, members of the group shared why they supported ShelterBox and why helping people affected by disasters mattered to them. Hearing the personal experiences and motivations of the others made a lasting impression on Wargolet.
At Holy Cross, she regularly serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, has served as a cantor when needed and substitutes as an usher. Except when snow or ice makes the walk unsafe, she often covers the approximately 2 ½ miles to church on foot.
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing,” she said.
She normally walks 4 to 5 miles each day.
“My mantra is keep moving,” Wargolet said. “I don’t run. But I walk fast and I walk far.”
Her commitment to service extends beyond the parish. A longtime Rotarian, Wargolet became involved with ShelterBox through Rotary and now speaks about the organization’s work throughout the Upper Midwest.
“Each family can have their own shelter,” she said. “And they can have privacy and they can rebuild their family unit.”
Yosemite has provided Wargolet with a way to combine that mission with another priority: family.
“It’s super special,” she said of traveling with her daughter and granddaughter.
(Submitted Photo)
This wasn’t the first service-oriented adventure for the three women. Several years ago, Wargolet, Katrina and Sophie traveled together to Guatemala, where they helped build a home for a single mother and her family.
Wargolet has watched those experiences influence Sophie, who has developed her own passion for helping others.
And Yosemite has become something of a family tradition as well.
The three completed their first ShelterBox trek there in 2023, raising more than $15,000 for the organization. When Sophie wanted to return this year, her 80-year-old grandmother was willing.
But physical fitness only explains how she is able to make the journey. Her reasons for making it are rooted in something much older: the example of her parents, her Catholic upbringing and the opportunity to pass those values to another generation.
“We share our love for nature. We share the ability to get out and move, hike and see beautiful places,” she said. “We do this at different stages of our lives.”
At 80, Wargolet doesn’t appear particularly interested in slowing down.
There are still people to help, family members to spend time with — and plenty of miles left to walk.
Scan to learn about ShelterBox USA or support its disaster relief efforts.
Information from ShelterBox USA was used in this report.
