Hackney family thanks WL community
Brian Hackney died last week after two-year battle with ALS that brought more than 60 community
By Nicole DeCosta

The West Linn Tidings, Aug 28, 2008


STAFF FILE PHOTO / Vern Uyetake / West Linn Tidings

West Linn resident Brian Hackney is shown here in his West Linn home in January. Hackney suffered from ALS and died on Aug. 15 at the age of 51.



Grace.

Love.

Laughter.

Dignity.

Those are the four words Julie Hackney wrote to describe her late husband Brian Hackney after he died from complications from ALS on Aug. 15. He was 51.

The Web site where she posted these comments – www.bhackney.com – was created so friends, family and community members could stay informed of the West Linn resident’s two-year battle with the disease.

And Brian often used voice recognition software and an adapted computer to post journal entries to the site as he lost his mobility.

About 60 people helped the Hackneys – meals, fund-raising, yard work – as Brian’s condition progressed, saying that ALS didn’t spell out a dreadful disease, but rather “Alltogether. Love. And Support.”

Hackney’s sister, Diane Diamantis of Florida, helped with public relations surrounding the many community fund-raisers for Brian.

She said that from Brian’s disease she has learned, “that not enough people really know what it is or what it is like.”

ALS – Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – is a neurodegenerative disease that causes motor neurons to die, eliminating the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement.

The condition was first brought to international attention in 1939 when baseball great Lou Gehrig retired from the sport after being diagnosed with ALS.

Brian – a father to two teen-age daughters who was born in Georgia and later moved to Oregon – told those around him that he wanted to have “no bad days.”

“Instead of having the attitude that you are dying from ALS, you are living with ALS,” he told the Tidings in a January 2008 interview.

And Diamantis said everyone Brian encountered picked up on his generosity and positive attitude.

“Everyone I came in contact with,” she said, “made a point to tell me what a wonderful person he was, always smiling – a southern gentleman.”

Diamantis said that Brian was patient to the end, even through frustrating communication efforts that made it difficult for others to understand him.

“He kept a twinkle in his eye, and while he still could communicate – a wry sense of humor,” she said.

Those close to Brian described him as a “helper” and very loyal. Earlier this year, Brian’s longtime friend Ken Keating of SW Portland described Brian’s situation as “the caregiver now (needing) care.”

Through their Web site last week, Julie and her daughters, Megan and Paige, said they’d like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers and support for the past two years.

They wrote, “It has made a difficult journey easier know we had a community behind us.

“Brian will continue to live in all our lives. He has touched a community that will forever be changed.”



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