Family, friends and community members are gathering to remember a young woman gone too soon, through supporting another young lady in her time of need.
Ava Mickelson, 18 passed away on October 30, 2022 from an aggressive form of leukemia, which she died from three days after her diagnosis.
In her honor, her family has organized the Live Like Ava Mickelson Foundation, which aims to “bless the lives of those in need.” On September 12, Ava’s family in conjunction with the foundation, will be holding Ava’s Bigfoot Stomp, which is an annual one-mile fun run fundraising event.
This year, fundraising efforts are going to help 12-year-old Emree Mortensen who was recently diagnosed with Undifferentiated Embryonal Sarcoma of the Liver, which is a rare and aggressive malignant tumor found in children.
Ava’s dad David Mickelson said that putting this event together came after the community decided to do something special for his daughter on her first birthday following her passing.
“They collected money and worked with the city to install a park bench with her name on it,” he said. “As they made their plans, it continued to grow into a Bigfoot-themed fun run and a birthday celebration for Ava.”
He said that the birthday celebration was such a great event that they decided to create a foundation and hold the fun run annually as a “blessing to a family in need.” He also said that they wanted to find a way to do service projects for causes that “represent Ava’s interests, passions, and experience.”
David Mickelson said that his daughter was fun, adventurous, social, and “often the life of the party.” He also said that she was “extremely service-oriented.”
“She loved acquiring new talents,” he added. “She taught herself how to play the ukulele and how to do beautiful lettering. She was also a big fan of Bigfoot and loved to debate with her friends whether he was real or not. Ava participated in cross-country in high school, first as a social endeavor but eventually simply loved to run. She ran a personal record on her birthday, less than two months before passing away.”
He spoke about the wonderful friend and older sister she was, adding that she always kept sticky notes in her car so she could write a nice message and give it to someone.
“She loved to deliver cookies or flowers to friends or people in our neighborhood,” he said. “During winter, if she was ready for school early enough, she would stop by a friend’s house and scrape the ice off of their car window. After she passed away, we heard from many people that we didn’t know about how Ava had been kind to them in some specific way that made them feel seen and known.
Ava was an amazing oldest sibling to her two younger sisters and one younger brother. She included them in lots of her adventures and enjoyed spending time with them. They would often invent their own games and she would stay up with her younger sister way past their bedtimes, talking and playing games in their shared bedroom.”
He spoke about a time she planned an adventure to find Bigfoot just a couple of months before she passed, saying that her love for the elusive furry creature is what inspired the annual fundraising event.
“On her 18th birthday, less than two months before she passed away, she took her friends into the mountains to look for Bigfoot,” he recalled. “Calling the event, Ava’s Bigfoot Stomp, is a nod to her love for Bigfoot and makes for a great theme. Our T-shirts always have a Bigfoot theme, we have people dressed as Bigfoot who attend the fun run and take pictures with people who attend, and we do a group Bigfoot call to start the race.”
Helping another in need
Each year, the Live Like Ava Mickelson Foundation finds an individual to focus their fundraising efforts on, 12-year-old Emree of Spanish Fork is the beneficiary.
“The Mortensen family has been a part of the Spanish Fork community for thirteen years,” David Mickelson told Serve Daily. “Troy and Julee have two daughters, Emree, who is twelve, and Ada, who is eleven.”
Emree’s mom wrote the following about her daughter:
“On April 30th, 2026, Emree was diagnosed with Undifferentiated Embryonal Sarcoma of the Liver (UELS). She had four rounds of chemotherapy before recently receiving a liver transplant and will have additional chemotherapy in the coming months. Emree enjoys school, cheer, music, traveling, and spending time with her friends and family.”
David Mickelson said that he and his family are grateful for all the support they have received from the community, extending that gratitude to their ability to now help others in their daughter’s name.
“We are so grateful for the community support we receive and the city of Spanish Fork,” he said. “We couldn’t do it without everyone’s help. We desire to provide hope, happiness, and goodness in this world where so many people are facing difficult challenges.”
Ava’s Bigfoot Stomp will be held September 12 at 9 a.m. at Legacy Farms Park.
To register, go to livelikeava.org.
