Peter Francois was born March 21, 1968 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the 8th of 11 children, to Jim and Judy Francois.  He attended St. Mary Grade School where he participated in just about everything, including his beloved soccer. 

After graduating from St. Mary Grade School, Peter went to St. Joseph High School following his siblings' footsteps.  He began playing soccer his sophomore year and was elected captain of the team.  Unfortunately, soccer wasn't very kind to Peter; he broke his leg both his sophomore and junior years, abruptly ending his soccer career.

Upon graduating from St. Joseph High School in 1986, Peter attended Marquette University.  After three years at Marquette, Peter transferred to Loyola University of Chicago, graduating with a degree in Social Work. Peter stayed in Chicago pursuing his life's dream as a social worker, helping those less fortunate, including the developmentally disabled, poor children, abused women and the homeless.

Peter's life and dreams ended all too soon.  On August 1, 1993, after a courageous battle with the AIDS virus, Peter died at the tender age of 25.  For all those who mourned his death, we remember a young man who felt so deeply the hurt of others and fought hard to make the world a better place for the less fortunate.

In 2005, several of Pete’s classmates and St. Joseph High School Alumni got together with the members of the Francois family and organized the first For Pete’s Sake Memorial Walk/Run.  We have had a tremendous response over the last ten years for this event and participation continues to grow.  Over 3,500 participants have joined us for the Walk/Run,  raising over $300,000 for this event!  This money directly supports an endowed scholarship fund to provide tuition for students that, without financial aid, would be unable to attend St. Joseph Catholic Academy. We thank you for your continued support and look forward to the years ahead.

With your participation, we will continue to be more successful each year.