Our Story

Our Story

Madelyn, Melissa and Letitia

In 2018, shortly after Letitia passed away, a conversation between Melissa and myself started the idea of doing something in her memory. It went along the lines of wouldn’t it be great to fund a PhD student, or a scholarship of some kind in Letitia’s name. At the time it was probably just a pipe dream, spoken out loud, with no idea how we could make it happen. It came out of wanting to do something that was ongoing and long term. We didn’t know just how or what this would entail, it was just an idea floating around in our heads.

During the months before Letitia passed away, we talked about what the Silver Style 2018 might look like. However, due to her declining health, the plans were never realised. Instead, with help from Letitia’s friends, and her chemo buddies, Kel Pittman, Ruth Cece and Amy Wilson, we held the 2018 Soiree soon after Letitia had passed away.

With the support of Adelaide Obstetrics and Fertility, and FYFE who came on board in 2018, we continued the tradition of the Adelaide Silver Style in October of 2018. This was followed by the Adelaide Silver Style Dinner Dance 2019, with the continued support of our loyal followers and sponsors. The event was a great success giving us confidence to continue on to the Town Hall in 2020.

With the start of the pandemic, we had to put that plan on hold, however it provided time to reflect on what would come next, and to revisit the original dream of funding Ovarian Cancer research directly. So it was that in 2021, the Letitia Linke Research Foundation Inc was registered as a charity, and as restrictions eased, we held the very successful Adelaide Silver Style Ball in October 2021.

Funds from the event have been channelled directly into Ovarian Cancer research – a start to realising our ambition to fund research in Letitia’s honour. The pipe dream became a reality in March 2022, when we donated funds to two local research projects based at UniSA here in Adelaide.

The quest to find an early detection test, a cause so dear to Letitia’s heart, goes on – in her name and in honour, and for all the women that have been affected by this most insidious of diseases.

Together we can make a difference.