Elvis Costello to headline Owen Hart foundation gala in December

English musician, song writer and producer Elvis Costello will headline the 17th annual Owen Hart foundation fundraiser next month, accordingto the foundation's founder and director.

"We were just absolutely thrilled because as you know Elvis Costello, he is such a legend," Owen's widow Martha Hart told Daybreak Alberta.

"He writes music, he plays lots of instruments and so he is really the epitome of a true musician."

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Owen Hart died May 23, 1999 in Kansas City, Mo., when a professional wrestling stunt wentwrong.

About a year and a half later, Martha started a foundation in his name to keep his spirit alive.

"I know a lot of people know the story behind the foundation and it's always going to have a sad beginning, but I just felt so compelled to do something meaningful in Owen's name. The fact that he was such a caregiver himself, I just really wanted to create something that epitomized his spirit and his personality," she said.

The foundation has handed out more than $3 million in gifts, endowments and scholarships.

Hart says some of the people the foundation has helped, really stand out to her.

"One that comes to mindis a gentleman that we helped with our housing program. He was an immigrant, he came here with nothing and he was having a really hard time just getting by," Hart recalled.

"He applied for the homeowners program, went through the program, did well. At the time it was he and his girlfriend that ended up getting the home. To this day, he still lives in the house and now he is married to that girlfriend and they have three children. I visited them and they are just a wonderful family and they are very successful."

She says the foundation has become something she only dreamed about.

"I didn't realize at that time that it would become a life's work for me which it has done and it has been incredibly meaningful for me personally," Hart said.

"But also it is an amazing legacy for Owen and for our children."

The fundraiser is Dec. 10 at the Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary.

With files from Daybreak Alberta