W.F. man succumbs to ALS
Andrea Domaskin, The Forum
Published Friday, June 22, 2007

A West Fargo man, whose family relied on their faith and community as he battled Lou Gehrig’s disease for almost a decade, will be buried today.

Alan Grossman, 48, died Monday at MeritCare Hospital. His funeral is 11 a.m. today at Faith Lutheran Church in West Fargo.

Grossman was diagnosed in December 1997 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. It’s a progressive disease that affects nerve cells, and there is no cure.

“He was just one of the greatest men I’ve ever known,” Grossman’s wife, Shelly, said Thursday. “He died with as much dignity and love as he lived his life.”

The average life expectancy for someone with ALS is two to five years. Grossman’s disease progressed more gradually.


Shelly Grossman breaks out in laughter after her husband, Alan, relays a joke through his computer at their home in West Fargo in this February file photo.

At first, Shelly said during a February interview, everyone wanted Grossman to see his son, Matt, graduate from high school in 2001. Then the goal became watching his younger son, Mike, graduate in 2003.

Grossman said during the interview that his family tried to battle ALS and live as normally as possible.

By that time, ALS had overtaken most of his body. He used a ventilator to breathe and was receiving round-the-clock care at home from Shelly, family members and nurses.

Grossman communicated by blinking and with the use of a computer.

The couple hosted an ALS support group at their home, and Grossman maintained Faith Lutheran Church’s Web site until he was no longer able to do so.

A note on the church’s Web site, www.growinfaith.org, read, “We are deeply saddened at the death of our dear friend, Alan Grossman, who created and maintained this website for many years... ‘one click at a time.’”