ARIZONA CHAPTER OF THE
NATIONAL PARKINSON FOUNDATION

Run for Shelley's Shakes

Dave Ammons founded The Shelley Anderson Research Fund in 2006 in honor of his mother, and participates every year in the Across the Years Race where ultrarunners test their endurance and run as many miles as possible over 24, 48, or 72 hours depending on which race they’re entered in. The race is held every year over the New Year’s holiday and Dave uses this forum to help raise funds for Parkinson’s. He donates the money raised to the Arizona Chapter of the NPF's Shelley Anderson Research Fund. Each year the AZNPF awards grants in the state of Arizona to help promote research to help find a cure for Parkinson’s.

Shelley Anderson

Shelley was born June 28, 1929 in Hastings Nebraska as the second child of Dr. and Mrs. Herbert F. Anderson. Shelley graduated from Hastings College in June 1951. She spent her junior year of college at the Sorbonne University in Paris. In 1952 she was awarded a Paul Harris Graduate Fellowship for the academic year 1952-53. She returned to Hastings College in 1954 as an instructor in French and Biology. She married Clarence Ammons in April, 1954 and joined her husband in Ft. Monroe, VA, where she taught Middle School.  

She also taught preschool in Princeton, NJ, while Clarence was in seminary and then in the Montview Preschool when they arrived in Denver in 1966. Shelley eventually taught at Graland Country Day School in Denver Colorado, where she was head of the Science Department, retiring in 1995.  

Inspired by her father Herb’s exploits as a Master’s Track and Field world record holder, Shelley also competed in Master’s competitions following her retirement. She loved the outdoors and aimed to climb all of Colorado’s 53 peaks above 14,000 feet.  

The onset of Parkinson disease prevented Shelley from completing her ambition to climb every one of these peaks. She now lives in the Sunrise assisted living facility in Littleton, Colorado.

Past Fund Recipients

• 2007/2008 Sun Health Research Institute neurologist Holly Shill, M.D. and senior scientist Lih-Fen Lue, Ph.D.
• 2006/2007 Dr. Travis Dunckley, Ph.D., TGen
• 2005/2006 Traci Snyder, Midwestern University
• 2003/2004 Natalai Dounskaia, Ph.D., Department of Kinesiology, Arizona State University

Interested in applying for a grant?

Requests for grant applications are accepted from Arizona residents who are conducting research in the state of Arizona in the field of movement disorders that directly relate to Parkinson's disease. Click here for application requirements and instructions.

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Dave Ammons

"My cause has very personal meaning as my mother is one of over a million and a half people suffering with Parkinson's disease in the U.S.  She was an incredibly vigorous and athletic woman when she first began to experience the tell-tale tremors. As a matter of fact it was on her 60th birthday that my mother led me to the summit of Mt. Elbert, the highest point in Colorado at 14,433 feet in elevation."