Richard Koerner a.k.a. Rudy

rudyk58
Male, 66 years
Pickerington, OH
rudyk58 Data Quality: 1 star ALS: 5 yrs Bi-Pap Wheelchair Bulbar: moderate Arms: severe Chest: moderate Legs: severe See profile Member since: 12/05
Last updated: 05/18/07

Joe Martinez
12/14/07

Stephen Mathes



Pioneering Leader in Plastic Surgery Dies of ALS

Stephen Mathes, MD, professor emeritus in the UCSF Department of Surgery and a pioneer in reconstructive surgery, died on Nov. 20, 2007, after a long and valiant battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

A longtime member of the UCSF faculty, Mathes was a towering figure in 20th century plastic and reconstructive surgery. He was a role model, educator, mentor and a gifted surgeon. Mathes will be remembered by his many friends and those he trained as brilliant, creative, supportive, energetic, lively and fun-loving.

“Dr. Mathes was a respected leader in plastic and reconstructive surgery who made seminal contributions to the field of plastic surgery,” said Nancy Ascher, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the UCSF Department of Surgery. “He has had a profound influence on his many trainees, colleagues, patients and on UCSF as a whole.

“UCSF and the plastic and reconstructive surgery community have lost a leader, innovator, mentor and compassionate human being,” she said. Born in 1943 and raised in New Orleans, Mathes attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and obtained his medical degree at LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. While in Baton Rouge, he played for the LSU tennis team; tennis remained his favorite sport, and he enjoyed many matches with colleagues and friends throughout his career.

From 1970 to 1972, Mathes served as a major in the US Army Medical Corps and was assistant chief of surgery at Fort Polk Army Hospital in southwest Louisiana, where he treated soldiers from his home state who had been wounded in Vietnam.

Mathes then completed general surgery and plastic surgery training at Emory University in Atlanta. Driven by his experience working as a surgeon at Fort Polk, he developed a laboratory to explore the anatomy and develop new ways to do reconstructive plastic surgery. These anatomical preparations and his subsequent publications were to become the source of the musculocutaneous flaps soon to be taught and adopted nationally and internationally for the coverage of previously untreatable wounds.

Mathes chose an academic career in surgery and in 1977 published his first textbook, titled Clinical Atlas of Muscle and Musculocutaneous Flaps. This text showed the vascular anatomy of flaps throughout the body and demonstrated how to move healthy tissue as needed to various sites. In 1978, Mathes moved to San Francisco to join the faculty at UCSF.

At UCSF, he was involved in basic science and clinical research that was supported by the National Institutes of Health and other grants. More than 42 research fellows from the United States, Europe and Asia were supervised in his laboratory or on clinical projects as the basic science work done in the laboratory was successfully applied by plastic surgeons around the world to treat deformities and wounds.

In 1984, Mathes became professor of surgery at UCSF, and in 1985, he became head of the Division of Plastic Surgery and residency program director. During his 26 years on the faculty at UCSF, 62 residents completed their plastic surgery training.

Mathes has received numerous awards recognizing his basic science and clinical research. These include six first prize awards from the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation, extending from 1981 to 1999. Other awards include the Special Achievement Award from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and Best Medical Book Award from the American Medical Writers Association.

Mathes was a member of 32 national and international professional societies. He served as chairman of the Plastic Surgery Research Council, director of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, chair of the Residency Review Committee for Plastic Surgery, president of the Association of Academic Chairmen in Plastic Surgery, president of the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation and trustee for the American Association of Plastic Surgeons.

Mathes published more than 233 peer-reviewed papers and chapters as well as six books, including the eight-volume edition of Plastic Surgery published in 2006. He was a visiting professor in more than 25 countries, delivered more than 400 formal lectures and participated in symposia throughout the world.

He is survived by his loving family, who will miss him greatly. They include his wife, Mary H. McGrath, MD, a plastic surgeon practicing at UCSF; his mother, Norma D. Mathes, of Cookson, OK; his sons David W. Mathes, MD, and wife, Amanda, of Seattle, WA, Brian A. Mathes and wife, Vaso, and their two children, Zoe and Norah, of Boston MA, and Edward J. Mathes and wife, Erin Mathes, MD, of San Francisco; his two brothers, Paul Mathes of New Orleans, LA, and Peter Mathes of Cookson, OK.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008, at 4 p.m. in Toland Hall at UCSF’s Parnassus Heights campus. A reception will follow. The family requests that all donations in memory of Mathes be made to the Stephen J. Mathes Endowed Chair Fund at UCSF Foundation, P.O. Box 45339, San Francisco, CA, 94145-0339. This fund will be the first endowment within the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and will serve as a lasting tribute to Mathes’ contribution to plastic surgery here at UCSF.

RSVP to Regan Botsford, Department of Surgery director of development, by Monday, Jan. 21, for the memorial service and reception. She can also provide you with additional information on how to make a gift to the endowed fund in his honor. Botsford can be reached by phone at 415/502-1573 or by email.


http://pub.ucsf.edu:80/today/cache/news/200712173.html

Dave Bakke: Giving the gift of rhyme




Published Wednesday, December 19, 2007


Frogs are neat/The way they croak/They sound defective/But they ain’t broke!”

That cute little poem was written by Sandy Hill. Sandy wrote all kinds of poems for small children. She started writing them in 1992, but gave her poems only to friends and family so they could be read to their children.
Unfortunately, Sandy died May 15. She was 57 years old.

Her poems for children were collected into a book and put on display during visitation for her at a funeral home. People stopped to read those poems. A few laughs were heard from that corner of the funeral home, and it was not at all inappropriate.

Sandy died from Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS). She had worked for several state agencies, including as director of personal standards and education for the state fire marshal until her retirement in 2002. She was diagnosed with ALS in 2006. One of the first things the disease took was her voice, but it never took her spirit, much of which is included in her poetry.

“Grape to raisin/Plum to prune/Girl to grandma/All too soon.”

After the visitation, Sandy’s husband, Kent, heard from people who wanted copies of Sandy’s poetry book. That gave Kent an idea. He decided to print 25 copies of the book, give some away and sell others for $10 each. The proceeds would go toward research for the prevention and cure of ALS so that someday other people would be spared what he and Sandy had to endure.

Lou Gehrig’s is a pitiless disease.

“Having this form of ALS has been described as being buried alive,” Kent wrote in the introduction to the book. “No one should have to die like this.”

Since first getting the idea, Kent has printed about 300 copies of the book, which is called “The Toy Lion and Other Children’s Poetry.” The book is on sale at Blades Unlimited, 1524 W. Jefferson St., (where Sandy used to have her hair styled) and at Scrapbook Your Story, 313 Stevenson Drive, and also, at least through the holidays if not longer, in White Oaks Mall.

Kent keeps copies of his wife’s poetry book in his car. If, as he drives around Springfield, he sees small children with their parents, he frequently pulls over and gives the book to the children. For every book Kent gives away, he puts $10 in his ALS fund.

Sandy and Kent never talked about this. It all came about after Sandy’s death. “She had no idea hundreds of people would be reading her poems,” Kent says. But that is what has happened.

“Do fleas have birthdays and if they did/What would you buy for a little flea kid?/Think hard and give your brain a jog/Maybe he’s ready for his first dog!”

If you think these poems I am quoting sound familiar, there is a reason for that. Shel Silverstein was one of Sandy’s favorite poets, and many of her poems have that same flavor.

Though “The Toy Lion” sells for $10, some people have given Kent more than that. A dentist gave him $50 for a copy of the book to put in his waiting room.

“Just a lot of nice things have happened,” Kent says about distributing the book. He knows of a family in which the kids have been taking turns reading Sandy’s poems to each other. People who learn the story behind the book give him hugs.

“As long as there will be people who buy it,” he says, “I’ll keep printing them.”

Anyone who wants a book can buy it at Blades or the scrapbook shop, or call Kent at 787-8677 or e-mail him at khill326@aol.com.

Money from the book sales has been given to ALS and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The MDA has a division for research into ALS.

“If I knew who had the best shot at curing the disease,” Kent says, “I’d funnel the money to them. I’d like to see it cured in my lifetime.”

Sandy will be remembered for a lot of things and, now, for the poems she wrote for children. Though she and Kent never had children of their own, through her art she will bring joy to a lot of young kids.

I will leave you with one more of Sandy’s poems. This one might be for grown-ups. It’s called “Dumb Mice?”

“Mice in a maze/Cheese surprise!/Humans in a maze/Without any prize.”

Everybody has a story. The problem is that some of them are boring. If yours is not, contact Dave Bakke at 788-1541 or dave.bakke@sj-r.com. His column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/22145.asp

Former Funny Car racer Sherman dies

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
by Phil Burgess, NHRA.com
12/19/2007



Former Funny Car racer Ray "R.C." Sherman, who piloted a long line of entries including the Black Magic and Raybestos machines, died Dec. 18 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease). He was 64.

Sherman and the ATI Black Magic teams were prolific match race contenders in the mid-1970s and were known for having a quick car that seldom broke, thanks to Bill Barrett's tune-up that relied on smaller engines and superchargers than the national event heavies yet was capable of competitive times. The team won several NHRA National Opens, IHRA national events, and many match races.

Sherman, of Frederick. Md., had been involved in auto racing since 1959, originally in sports car drag racing, then, with Len Cottrell of Chicken Chokers fame, stepped up to a gas-burning Corvette Funny Car in 1972.


In 1975, Jim Beattie, owner of ATI Transmissions, asked Sherman to pilot his Black Magic Vega, which had been driven by Al Segrini. The team campaigned through the 1977 season, when Sherman fielded his own Arrow Funny Car that eventually ran as the Dirt Shirt Express through 1982. In 1983, he earned corporate sponsorship from retail giant Kmart and fielded the Kmart Motorvator entry through 1985 and competed in 1986-88 with backing from Polaroid. In 1989, he began a long stint in the seat of Nick Boninfante's Raybestos entry. Although never a final-round contender in the NHRA series, the team did win an IHRA championship and stayed together through the 1993 season.

Sherman continued to compete infrequently in 1994, driving Paul Smith's school car and for Dan Richards before retiring.

He is survived by his wife, Ginger, and mother, Alise.

http://www.nhra.com/content/news/26010.htm

Press Release Source: Randy J. Valli


Obituary: Caesar J. Valli (1925-2007) -- Beloved Maitre D' Welcomed 100,000+ Diners to Famous 'Hill' Restaurants in 1970s, 80s and 90s
Saturday December 22, 3:17 am ET
St. Louis, Missouri and Bi-State (MISSOURI-ILLINOIS) Region


ST. LOUIS, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Caesar Joseph Valli died at his home Friday, Dec. 21, 2007, 11:00 p.m., of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or "Lou Gehrig's disease." Valli was 82.
For Photo: http://www.CaesarValli.com

For decades, Valli was a fixture at some of The Hill's most popular Italian restaurants. As weekend Maitre D', his was the face that greeted more than 100,000 diners at Rigazzi's, Da Baldo Trattoria, formerly Da Vinci's, Bartolino's, and finally Cunetto House of Pasta. He also served as weekend Maitre D' for seven years at Italian Gardens/Bartolino's South in South St. Louis County.

Valli was born and raised in the St. Ambrose Parish on The Hill. He grew- up in the same tight-knit neighborhood as Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra and Joe Garagiola, Sr. Both Berra and Garagiola became baseball Hall of Famers. Garagiola went-on to broadcast for NBC, and Berra became famous for his malapropisms, or "Yogiisms." All three were born into the St. Ambrose Parish in 1925 or 1926 and were friends on the playgrounds. Valli often joked that he "had the same English skills as Yogi Berra."

A first-generation American, Caesar Joseph Valli was born in St. Louis on April 27, 1925 to Pietro Allesandro Valli and Antoinette Benedetta Valli (nee Bottarini), both of whom immigrated to the U.S. from Turbigo, Italy in 1922. Turbigo is in the Lombardy region in northwest Italy, about 30 miles west of Milan; its current population is about 7,200.

Valli is survived by wife Carolyn, daughter Lynn, son Randy and daughter- in-law Patty, son Tim and daughter-in-law Chris, and grandchildren Peter, Monica and Sarah. He is also survived by sister-in-law Margaret Kistner, and brother-in-law Ray Schulte.

Visitation, mass and funeral arrangements are pending. Visitation will be at Kutis Affton Chapel, 10151 Gravois Rd., Affton, Mo., (date and time to be announced shortly). The funeral mass will be held at St. Ambrose Church, 5130 Wilson Ave., City of St. Louis (date and time to be announced shortly). The final resting place will be Resurrection Cemetery, 6901 Mackenzie Rd., South St. Louis County.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Randy J. Valli

One man's life tells larger story
Bill McCarthy, Burnaby Now
Published: Tuesday, December 25, 2007

On Oct. 20, Elio Sicolo passed away after a battle with ALS, more commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 62 years old.

For so many of his customers and friends in South Burnaby, he was simply Elio, who operated his comfortable barber shop at Royal Oak Avenue and Rumble Street for over 30 years.

He was my barber for this entire time. I greatly appreciated his friendship. Over the years, while my hair decreased, our conversations increased. And while he was an excellent barber (you never referred to him as a hairstylist), he was even a better man. I had thought about writing a column about Elio, tying in the role of the small business operator and the changing nature of commercial real estate in Burnaby since I realized he would be retiring about two years ago.
I thought more about this during his beautiful funeral service and decided to write these words this month and further connect it in to the changing demographics of Burnaby.

As with any exemplary person, one can learn a great deal by his example.

Elio was an extremely well-read individual, a keen observer of the events and individuals.

He was a very practical person. Over the years, he cut the hair of politicians from all political parties and all levels of government. He also had as his customers many business owners and operators, employers and employees. All of them were fond of Elio and remained his customers for decades.

When Elio wanted to emigrate to Canada from his small village in Italy, it took him almost three years of applying. This was in the beginning of the Trudeau era before immigration policies were essentially rewritten, and those wanting to come to Canada required both a plan and perseverance.

After multiple applications, Elio was able to join his brother in Edmonton only after his brother guaranteed his sponsorship and Elio could prove he had work lined up and sufficient command of English in the country he planned to make his new home.

From this time forward, Elio embraced his new country and never complained about the long hours he worked and what was expected of him as a new citizen.

He and his wife Christine proudly raised their five children from the income he generated cutting hair. He gave back far more to his adopted country than he ever took. And he was an entrepreneur: leasing space, generating revenue, paying taxes and expenses. He provided quality service for a fair price.

And now, almost 40 years after Elio was permitted into Canada, it has been reported that more than half of Burnaby's population was born outside of Canada. Fully 56 per cent of Burnaby residents have languages other than English or French as their primary language.

These trends were well underway while Elio was still working, and he would often reflect on how times had changed since he was permitted into this country.

He could never have dreamed of so many services and benefits being provided for newcomers. Nor is it likely, knowing the man, that he would have been comfortable accepting them. He acknowledged that sacrifice and personal accountability and responsibility made him appreciate what he had earned through his own hard work.

Canada's size and diversity and rapidly declining birth rate means we will increasingly need immigrants. The question going forward will be from the huge and unprecedented numbers of new Canadians in our city and province, how many of them will prove to be the great asset to our country and city that Elio Sicolo proved to be.

William P. J. McCarthy is president and CEO of W. P. J. McCarthy & Co. Ltd., a firm specializing in property management and development.

http://www.canada.com/burnabynow/new...2d46f3&k=24394

George V. Cowdrey II Oct. 30, 1937-Dec. 26, 2007

story updated December 28. 2007 1:00PM







George V. Cowdrey, II of Sylvania passed away in his home on Wednesday, December 26, 2007 of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease). George was diagnosed in January 2007. George was born in Ottawa Lake, MI on October 30, 1937, to George and Ila (Burghardt) Cowdrey.

A retired teacher and principal with over 30 years in the Bedford Public School System, his legacy as an educator continues in the lives of the children he taught and the educational opportunities he championed for his students. George spent most of his career as the first elementary school principal at Smith Road School, a school that opened in the 1970s, and was known for its unique approach for educating young children. George had a sense of humor ranging from witty to ridiculously slapstick that kept everyone smiling.He made morning announcements a comedic learning opportunity for the children and teachers alike. George had an infectious smile and the ability to see the funny side of any situation. He was the kind of administrator that attracted the best teachers and he developed a loyal, talented staff. George spent a majority of his life giving back to the community as an educator, mentor, and friend to many and to his family, he was indispensable.

George held various teaching positions in Bedford Public and Washington Local Schools from 1961-1971. He was then appointed to chair the Education Specifications Committee of the new Smith Road Elementary School. George recommended an open education concept format (several rooms that open together and share a common space allowing student/teacher interaction/communication). This approach was adopted at Smith Road and George was appointed as the Principal of Smith Road Elementary School from 1971-1994. During this time frame, George also served as the Principal of Temperance Road Elementary School from 1990-1991. George retired in 1994 at age 55 while serving as principal at Smith Road. He later served as President and Recording Secretary of the Kappa Delta Phi Alumni Association.

George attended Blissfield High School from 8th through 12th grade. He received a Bachelors Degree in Education at Eastern Michigan University in 1961 and later obtained a Masters Degree in K-12 Education Administration.

George had a lifelong love of trains ranging from model railroads to live steam locomotives. He worked as a part-time employee of the Adrian Blissfield Railroad, and volunteered his time to the Northwest Ohio Live Steamers and more recently the Southern Michigan Railroad Society (SMRS). He served as an engineer running train excursions for SMRS, instructing new engineers and providing his guidance and support to the organization as a board member and secretary. George also had a reputation as a consummate handyman and he was known for his unique approach to repairing anything.

George is survived by his wife of 44 years, Salinda; his children, Lucinda Binni (Bassam), Katrina Walls (Robbie), George Cowdrey, III (Kristina); and grandchildren, Gavin Binni, Elizabeth Walls, and expected grandchild Kira Cowdrey in March 2008; and brother Carl Cowdrey (Theresa); and sister Betty Keezer.

Visitation will be held at the Reeb Funeral Home, 5712 N. Main St., Sylvania, on Friday, December 28, 2007 from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The funeral service will be held on Saturday at 12:00 pm at Monroe Street United Methodist Church at 3613 Monroe St. in Toledo with viewing at 11:00 am. Interment will follow in Toledo Memorial Park.

The family suggests memorial contributions are to be made to one of the following organizations: Monroe Street United Methodist Church; The ALS Association Northern Ohio Chapter at 2500 E. 22nd St., Cleveland, OH, 44115; or the Southern Michigan Railroad Society at P.O. Box K, Clinton, MI, 49236.

Alternative cinema’s right-wing champion
By Diane Dietz
The Register-Guard


Published: December 30, 2007 06:01AM



He was a spy, a helicopter pilot, a patriot and a right-wing conservative who spent his career screening art films for Eugene’s liberal elite.

Michael Lamont, owner of the Bijou Art Cinemas, was a private man who didn’t exactly hide his views but didn’t exactly trumpet them either, longtime friends and employees say.

“He was someone very far to the right to show left-leaning films. There’s some ambiguity there that I never penetrated,” said Lois Wadsworth, a retired film critic and arts editor.

Lamont died Dec. 22 of Lou Gehrig’s disease, which over a half-dozen years slowly robbed him of his ability to walk, eat, breathe, speak and finally live. He was 62.

Gone is a man of enormous talents and contradictions, say many who knew him.

As a young man growing up in El Paso, Texas, he was a “genius” with a perfect grade record, according to his sister, Michaele Rychetsky, of Redmond.

At age 18, he joined the Air Force, which sent him to Yale to learn Chinese. After that, he was based in Taiwan, where his job was to translate Chinese radio transmissions, Rychetsky said.

After his hitch in the Air Force, he joined the Army because that branch would allow him to do what he really wanted: Fly. He became a helicopter pilot and served for an additional five years.

At age 32, he came to Eugene to study computer science, but got derailed when he took up a hobby of showing Super 8mm films in the “wine loft” of a campus restaurant called Aunt Lucy Devine’s.

It was a short step from there to opening the Bijou in 1980 in the venerable mission-style building at 492 E. 13th Ave. in Eugene, which had served previously as a church and a funeral home.

“Everything was sort of accidental,” he once told a reporter. “Things don’t always go as planned.”

Within a month of opening the Bijou — at age 35 — Lamont abruptly changed his name. From birth until that point, he was Robert McNeely. After, he was Michael Lamont.

Rychetsky said he chose the name “Michael” to honor his mother. That’s what she’d wanted to name him, but somehow he got pinned with his paternal grandfather’s moniker. Apparently, he just liked the sound of Lamont, she said.

“All my kids were used to calling him Uncle Bob,” she said. “It was kind of strange.”

Lamont was an artist who left boxes brimming with notebooks and microcassettes with records of dreams, song lyrics and melodies and ideas for stories and products and projects.

He could instantly play any instrument. He learned accordion as a small child, played baritone horn in high school and piano, guitar and drums as an adult.

He believed “The Grumbles” was the perfect name for a rock band, but he wouldn’t tell anybody lest they steal it, said Jamie Hosler, who worked for Lamont for seven years, lived with him for a year and was his friend until his death.

In 1989, Lamont felt compelled to enlarge images from the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, which he exhibited at a campus coffee shop, Hosler said.

It was hard to tell if he was moved by the bravery of the Chinese, Hosler said. “We had a conversation about it at the time, that basically all art was to pick up girls with.”

Lamont’s Bijou became an essential part of Eugene’s cultural life, especially when the city’s 11 commercial cinemas winnowed to just a few.

“It was an exclusive entree to the kind of film you’d never see in a traditional, commercial movie theater,” said Lloyd Paseman, retired editor and movie critic. “And that was important and it’s still important.”

The Bijou is revered by Eugene’s counterculture for its yeasty, organic popcorn and for showing small, offbeat, classic and foreign films the multiplex theaters often pass by.

Little in the ambience betrayed the owner’s point of view.

Lamont was an early fan of Rush Limbaugh and a latter-day participant on the conservative Lars Larson radio show, according to family and friends.

When protesters thronged in the streets to protest the first Gulf War, Lamont was a counterdemonstrator, sticking up for the first President Bush on the other side of the street.

When President Bill Clinton visited Springfield in 1998, Lamont stood in the streets to protest. Lamont contributed to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group that challenged presidential candidate John Kerry’s war record four years ago.

“He had this particular feeling of right and wrong in politics,” Rychetsky said.

Lamont strongly felt that a flag was the right replacement for the cross on Skinner’s Butte and wrote a moving letter to the editor with his rationale: “We look up at those stars and stripes — Old Glory, a symbol of our revolution, our history, our sacrifices, our mistakes, our triumphs, our future course. How lucky, how very lucky, we are to see it fly.”

Despite his strongly held views, Lamont succeeded for more than quarter century in a left wing business in a liberal town.

“He was a conundrum because he loved art films, and he was this other guy. He tried not to associate his goofy rantings with the Bijou, but he was very politically active,” said Louise Thomas, who knew Lamont for two decades and continues to manage the Bijou.

He’d argue with the Bijou’s fix-it man, Sparks, who had opposing views on many issues, Hosler said, but the repartee was without acrimony.

“Sitting with the two of them at lunch was like sitting with an old married couple. They’d argue back and forth — just arguing for the sake of arguing,” he said.

Ex-employees said Lamont was hard to work for. He could be harsh, and the atmosphere was sometimes tense. And he would engage in arguments with employees.

But he’d also send them e-mails on topics that interested them, saying “you mentioned this the other day,” Holser said. “Even if he was arguing with you it seemed like he was paying attention to what you were talking about,” he said.

Thomas worked for him for years, quit in anger and then went back to work for him again in 2002 after he got sick.

“He was difficult to get along with, but a lot of us never left him. We would get mad and leave and be drawn back,” she said. “He was so unlike anyone else in the world. He was difficult, but also glorious.”

Lamont was a vigorous man who ran, hiked, snowboarded, paraglided and climbed towering rocks. Although he had no children, he was devoted to his nieces and nephews.

Once, while visiting his sister when her children were 3 and 5 years old, he disappeared into the bathroom. He emerged with a pile of suds on his head and on the backs of his hands, which he clapped, and the bubbles flew. “They thought it was the most comical thing,” she said.

Diagnosed at 56 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal neuromuscular disease, Lamont kept disability at arm’s length as long as he could, Thomas said, accepting a feeding tube and a ventilator to aid his breathing only when absolutely necessary. He lived on a ventilator for five years, Thomas said.

“He just wouldn’t stop,” she said. “His body was so done. It was so tired, but it was his will. He concentrated on not dying for the longest time.”

A match made on the front page



Virginia Holberton fell for her husband, Douglas, after reading his war letter in the "Times-Union."

(January 3, 2008) — I owe meeting my husband to the now-defunct Times-Union newspaper here in Rochester. In 1966, the Times-Union ran, on its front page, stories and pictures from servicemen from the area who were in Vietnam. Douglas Holberton, a sergeant in the Marines, wrote the second letter. As I read his letter and biography, I realized he lived about a mile from my parents, with whom I lived. I was new to the Henrietta area, as I had lived in Webster most of my life.

I was impressed that Douglas and the other servicemen would take the time to respond to the newspaper's request about why we were in Vietnam. Using the sketchy address published in the newspaper, I wrote to Douglas to say thank you for fighting for our country. I should add that he was very handsome.

Somehow he received my letter and asked me if I would write to him as a pen pal, which I did. I later learned two other girls and a houseful of nurses near Strong Memorial Hospital also wrote him regularly. When Doug came home, he decided to personally thank each girl for writing to him. I was girl No. 3. We met at my parents' home for the first time on Feb. 1, 1967. Doug was 27 and I was 24. Our love grew quickly, and on Jun. 30, 1967, five months after meeting, we were married.

We enjoyed 261/2 years together and raised two sons, Michael and Chad. On Jan. 22, 1994, Doug died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Doug was a wonderful husband and a great role model for his sons. So thank you, Times-Union, for our union.

— Virginia (Ginny) Holberton of Greece