Amy Hebert and her late father, John, at Epcot Center, two weeks before he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.  Amy Hebert, a professor at Elmhurst University, is leading efforts to create a scholarship in her father’s memory for Elmhurst students. (Provided photo)

John Hebert was a font of trivial knowledge. 

“My dad was full of useless information,” said his daughter, Amy. “If you ever needed someone to answer a trivia question, it would be John.” 

John Hebert, a longtime Downers Grove resident, died this spring after a quick battle with colon cancer.  He was diagnosed with the disease in February. 

“It came on suddenly and he went downhill quickly. It was stage 4 when they diagnosed it so there was not much to do,” Amy Hebert said. “It progressed quickly. By March, he was already in hospice.” 

Amy, an assistant professor of biology at Elmhurst University, talked with her father about his wishes. 

“It was frustrating because there was not much to do. The idea of a scholarship came to us when we were talking about where to send flowers and where to send donations,” Amy said. “We didn’t want just some random place. We thought of setting up a scholarship at Elmhurst and to set it up for students interested in grad school and entering the medical research field. 

“We didn’t want other families to have to go through this.” 

A Trivia Night will be held Wednesday, July 31 (John Hebert’s birthday) at Alter Brewing Co. in Downers Grove to raise money for the John Hebert Scholarship Fund that will provide a grant to an Elmhurst University student annually. 

“We are not a wealthy family,” Amy Hebert said. “We do not have the money to fund the endowment. We started thinking about how to raise money to fund the scholarship and we thought of the Trivia Night fundraiser.” 

Amy Hebert remembers her dad, a retired tax accountant, as a “bird nerd” and an individual “who loved old TV shows and movies.” 

So, a fund-raiser T-shirt was created with an artist’s rendering of John Hebert as a blue-footed booby (bird) and event prizes will include some of his favorite movies. 

“He was a funny guy with a dumb sense of humor,” Amy Hebert remembered, “but he was a very giving person. It is very fitting to have a scholarship in his honor. He would be the first one to donate to a fundraiser. He was an avid volunteer.” 

He coached Special Olympians in bocce and was paired with one of his Special Olympians for Unified Sports in the 2010s. 

John Hebert was also on the board of the DuPage Birding Club. 

“He was involved in a lot of different things in the area,” Amy said. 

Members of the fundraising effort have set a goal of $10,000 for the Trivia Night. 

“It may be a lofty goal for our first year. We’ll see,” Amy said. 

Organizers hope to get the Scholarship Fund up to $50,000 within five years at which point scholarships will begin being awarded. 

“When I see those students (who win the scholarship), I will see my dad’s memory being carried on,” Amy Hebert said. 

The entire Elmhurst University biology department will make the scholarship selection. 

“It will go to the student who shows the best potential to succeed in graduate school and medical research, and shows drive,” she said of the selection process. 

“We will make it happen somehow,” Amy Hebert added. “John knew about it and was excited about it.” 

The Elmhurst professor wants the fundraiser to be a fun night, but also one that spreads knowledge about colon cancer. 

Amy noted that her father did not have colonoscopies done. 

“I’m making it my mission that everyone else gets them,” she said. “Personally, I had it done and it’s not that bad. You take a quick nap, and it can potentially safe your life. 

“Prevention is the best thing we can do. It is worth a day in the bathroom to prevent some terrible thing down the road.” 

Amy Hebert, who was born and raised in Downers Grove and still lives in the community, said you don’t have to be on par with her late father to participate in the Trivia Night. 

“It does not matter how good you are in trivia. It will be a fun night,” she said. 

Besides a trivia competition, the evening will include raffles, silent auctions, pizza, cake, and a wine pull where people do a ring toss to get wine. 

Amy Hebert, a nine-year professor at Elmhurst University, said silent auction prizes include a tour and tasting for eight at Whiskey Acres Distilling Co., a three-month Magnum membership at Cooper’s Hawk, and a leather bag handcrafted by an Elmhurst University professor. 

Tickets to the Trivia Night are $50. Information on tickets, donating to the John Hebert Scholarship Fund, and bidding on silent auction items online can be found at https://jhhebertscholarship.com/. 

kbeese@chronicleillinois.com