Has enlarged heart (in more ways than one)

Hiller walks, bikes, climbs the world for charity

By LAUREN FRITSKY

She's climbed a mountain (not Mt. Airy) and walked and biked more miles in seven years than some people cover in a lifetime. And she did it all at a time in life when most people slow down considerably. 

At the age of 63, Katherine "Kitsie" Converse not only has a new lease on her own life, but has helped improve the quality of life for countless others. Last summer, the long-time Chestnut Hill resident raised $12,500 for Paul Newman's Hole-in-the-Wall camps for kids with critical illnesses by walking 500 miles across Spain. Hole in the Wall Camps are the world's largest network of camps for children with serious diseases. They are a not-for-profit organization founded by actor Paul Newman in 1988. Over 70,000 children from 34 states and 27 countries have attended the camps free of charge.  

Her journey began in St Jean Pied de Port in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains in France and ended in Santiago, Spain. The path she walked is called the Santiago de Compostela, the second most journeyed religious pilgrimage trail for people from all over the world.

"I wanted to do a charity for children, and I wanted it to be international," said Converse, who resembles Blythe Danner, actress and mother of Gwenyth Paltrow. 

Converse, who grew up on a farm in Bucks County before moving to the Main Line in later youth, spent most of her married life working as an interior designer and a coordinator for group trips to Italy and France. She divorced her husband after 35 years and decided to take time to find herself again. She raised her kids, who are between the ages of 28 and 38, to be worldly and independent.

"I think my kids brought me up," she said. "I listened to their innate, unspoiled wisdom. They had a lot more than I did when I was raised. I take my children as my leaders."

She took up biking, joining the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia, then rode across the state, and then the country at the age of 56.

While the physical completion of the excursion was part of the goal, Converse also decided to start a fundraiser for a charitable cause or institution, picked by her four children. She raised $7,500 for Planned Parenthood.

Her next adventure was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise $16,500 for breast cancer research. Then, at her 60^th birthday bash, she asked her guests to make donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, for which she eventually raised $12,000 for three wishes.

The 1963 University of Pennsylvania grad said that while she did not play group sports in school, she's been active her whole life. "I couldn't sit still," she said. "I love life. It's delicious. I think that's why I raised four kids. I had so much energy."

How does one person start a fundraiser? Converse sent letters to everyone she knew, and clearly outlined the who, what, where, when, why and how of her cause. She also included information about her charity and a stamped envelope so that recipients could easily return their donations. She credits her straightforward style and little illustrations she always includes for the large rate of return she normally receives.

Converse described a deceased friend who, on her 50^th birthday, gave $5,000 each to 10 friends and told them to donate the money to the charities of their choice. "It gave me the idea that one person could make a difference," she said.

Converse recalled the hardest day of her walk through Spain, which lasted about five weeks. "One day I walked 28 miles across a plain in the blistering sun" she said. "It was hot, flat and endless."

Converse had a set number of miles she wanted to walk every day, and she always met her goal. There was never a point where she wanted to stop. She said the people and the scenery kept her going.

"The trail was filled with people from all over the world," she said. "People were endlessly friendly. The scenery was beautiful -- the shepherds with their sheep, wild flowers, mountain streams, cloisters, lovely, small little towns, bells ringing."

These scenes were captured with vivid watercolors that Converse tried to paint everyday. She was in a new town every night, and she tried to experience it all as fully as possible despite her exhaustion. "The big subject on the trail is your feet," she said. "It's a whole culture of Band-Aids and Dr. Scholls."

Thankfully, Converse had no foot problems.

A passport had to be presented and stamped at every stop along the route, which passed through cities and towns like Pamplona, Burgos and Astorga. Converse said that some people tried to "fake" the excursion, but the stamps guarded against that. She also received a certificate in Latin when she reached Santiago. 

One of the biggest lessons Converse learned on her journey is that all people can connect, even if it's only for a short while. "You learn that all people can get along," she said. "The whole nature of the trip, how you meet up again with some people on the trail and lose track of others, teaches you to live in the moment."

Ironically, Converse's walk almost didn't happen because her heart was too big. In February, she was diagnosed with cardio myopathy, a condition that enlarges the heart. Doctors put her on medication, but she still functioned well with a weak heart.

Then miraculously, she visited the doctor two days before her departure date and discovered her heart had returned to its normal size.

"I've outwitted a lot in my life," she said. "I felt like I was in a frozen pond and found a fish hole."   

Converse lives by Gandhi's personal motto, "Live the change you seek." She has given inspirational talks at Penn and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. "People close down when they get older," she said. "I feel like a little windup toy just bouncing off the backboards. My curiosity and energy don't stop."

Converse is not sure what her next project will be. She has tentative plans to move to Europe in January. "I could be retired, living a nice life in a nice area," she said, "but I do everything. There's nothing I can't do."