Doris Otterman,


Doris Clark Otterman, 81, of West Topsham, Vt., died Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008. She had been cared for at home by her family during her struggle with ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease.

She was born Oct. 13, 1926, the youngest of five daughters of Douglas A. and Helen (Parker) Clark.

Educated in Barre, she attended Lincoln School and graduated from Spaulding High School in 1944. Fifty-nine years ago, she married Harvey B. Otterman Jr., who survives her. They made their home in West Topsham where they raised three sons who also survive.

Always a devoted homemaker and mother, her home was the site of many holiday observances which included neighbors and friends who had no family nearby and annual reunions for her extended family

Doris could be depended on to provide music at the churches in West Topsham and East Orange and for school functions when Topsham had its rural schools. Always a sports fan, she actively supported and provided transportation for the local youth baseball teams and in the winter months, Barre youth hockey in its early days at the outdoor rink at North Barre.

She is survived by her husband, Harvey B. Otterman Jr. of West Topsham; three sons, Stephen and his wife, Maureen, David and his wife, Karen, and Thomas and his wife, Donna; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; three sisters, Marjorie Hughs of Boca Raton, Fla., Janet Geals of Montpelier, and Ruth Ann Lyons of Birmingham, Ala.; several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008 at 11 a.m. in the East Orange Church with the Rev. Candace Ricker officiating. Visiting hours will be Tuesday afternoon from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Hale Funeral Home, Upper Plain, Bradford. Burial will be in the spring in the family lot in the West Topsham Cemetery in West Topsham.

My brother of 12 plus years just passed.
Posted by Smilef in Children & Families Monday January 28, 2008 at 10:40 PM

Hello, my name is Marcy. I have a brother by the name of Sam Ward, that just passed away Jan 08 2008 from this terrible disease ALS. It really stinks that we are no farther ahead than we were in the 40:s. How sad is that?
My brother had Bulbar. He really had the will to live. He was a strong man.
I want to be able to help any paitents out there that I can.
I hope that some day I can make it to Washington and be right up front to be able to speak about this disease.
If anyone needs to talk please email me directly at Smilef@Aol.com

I live in Fort Collins Co. If there are any patients out there I am willing to help out. I do have medical background.

Hope to hear from you all soon.

http://als.clinicahealth.com:80/comm.../01/29/0340200

Leonard loses battle to Lou Gherig’s disease
By: John Taylor
Source:
01-29-2008

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim Leonard loved sports. On the gridiron, the diamond or the court, Leonard was one of the best performers of his time. The 1982 Madisonville High School graduate played quarterback, outfield and relief pitcher.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Leonard loved the Vols and Tornadoes and watching the smallest athletes at Kefauver Park.

Madisonville High School became part of Sequoyah High and the Chiefs became Leonard’s favorite team. His loyalty was rewarded; the baseball field at Sequoyah was named “Tim Leonard Field.” In June of 1993, almost 14 years ago, Leonard learned he had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. There is no cure.

To his brother Danny, Tim once said of ALS, “I have on an iron suit.” Though his body grew weaker, Leonard never gave up. He wasn’t made that way. His cousin Amy Tester said, “I felt so sad...I felt sorry for him. But he had a completely different outlook .... and soon made me feel good.”

That is one thing other than athleticism people remember about Tim Leonard. A neighbor he rode with to little league said, “Tim was always well-behaved and neat and clean, a little gentleman.” His brother Danny Leonard remembers: “Tim was beloved by his community and he loved them. He wanted to help others.”

He participated in telethons on Chattanooga and Knoxville television stations. “He was a fighter,” Danny Leonard said. “People would visit to cheer him up and they’d be the ones uplifted, because he loved people.”

Leonard said his brother gave 100 percent to whatever he did. “That iron suit couldn’t hold Tim down, spiritually he trusted the Lord, that’s how he made it through. Tim will be very much missed but won’t be forgotten.” Tony Hawkins was on the mound and Tim Leonard in the field when the Tornadoes came within one strike of a state championship in 1981. That team, and the one Leonard played on in 1982, were the foundation for the State Champion Tornadoes of 1983.

Hawkins had said his friend was a great player and an unselfish team player. “He was quarterback and I was a receiver, the paper called us the Leonard to Hawkins connection,” said Hawkins. “He was so accurate he made it easy.”

“He was a leader in the huddle and off the field–one of the greatest guys I’ve ever known,” Hawkins continued. “It was appropriate they named the field at Sequoyah ‘Tim Leonard Field.’ “That bad disease wasn’t supposed to happen to guys like him, but with his positive attitude he never gave up. That was like a game when we were behind and in the huddle Tim would say, ‘Don’t give up!’

“I hear his voice say that every time I think of the battles he fought. Tim knew how to confront bad times–he put his Lord first. He strengthened us all. As I viewed his body, I thought of his smile–his love for all. That’s how I’ll remember Tim Leonard.”

Mac Coley coached the Tornado baseball team when Tim Leonard played. “Tim Leonard was really intellectual and a really good athlete,” said Coley. “It’s hard to describe how big- hearted he was–he would help anybody in a word. He was the kind of kid you’d want your kid to be around. He never showed ill will toward anyone.”

Coley described Leonard as a fierce, determined competitor. “His attitude was whatever it takes, we’ll do it. Anything I asked he did and I didn’t have to watch. In a game Tim would get in a zone. When I called on him to pitch in relief he’d get so pumped up I’d have to calm him down.

“After his graduation we became good friends and told each other our troubles. It seemed like I talked to him 10 times more than he talked to me,” said Coley. “Tim came to Kingsport to watch my son play and he had just found out about his disease. But he was never bitter–he was a good Christian man who knew no fear. Tim Leonard was unique, he could have done anything he wanted.”

Now Leonard’s body will not be present on the sidelines, behind the backstop or in the gym. But for fans, teammates, coaches and the little ones he loved to watch, Tim Leonard’s presence will always be felt. People touched by Tim Leonard’s life can remember him with a contribution to the Tim Leonard Scholarship Fund, c/o Citizens National Bank, Madisonville. It will go each year to a student who exemplifies Tim Leonard’s characteristics.

John Taylor may be reached at taylormadetalk@yahoo.com.

http://monroe.xtn.net/index.php?tabl...&newsid=147789

Obituary: M. Donald Whorton ‘65

30Jan08 – M. Donald Whorton, an internationally-recognized occupational health physician and workplace epidemiologist, died on January 27, 2008 at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, California from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Whorton was 65 years old.

Born on January 25, 1943 in Las Vegas, New Mexico to Rachel Siegal Whorton and Romayne "****" Whorton, Whorton spent his childhood working in the family grocery store and playing school sports.

After graduating from Robinson High School in 1961, Whorton attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland for one year before returning to Las Vegas and enrolling in Highlands University.

Whorton graduated with honors and as a member of Alpha Omega Alpha from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine's first graduating class in 1968. Whorton went on to receive his master's degree in public health with a focus in environmental medicine from Johns Hopkins University. He completed his internship in internal medicine at Harvard Medical Service Boston City Hospital and his residency in internal medicine at Baltimore City Hospital. He was board certified in occupational and internal medicine, an elected member of the National Academy of Science Institute of Medicine, and a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Whorton advanced the field of occupational medicine through epidemiological studies that led to a greater understanding of workplace exposure. Notably, discovered the link between workplace exposure to the nematocide DBCP and male infertility. Whorton was the founding director of the University of California at Berkeley's Labor and Occupational Health Program (LOHP), and in 1978

Whorton joined Environmental Health Associates, Inc. (EHA), an occupational and environmental consulting company. When EHA was acquired by ENSR Consulting and Engineering in 1988, Whorton continued on in his capacity as Vice President for six years until he started his own, private consulting firm, M. Donald Whorton, M.D., Inc. In 2001 Whorton merged his firm with WorkCare, Inc. and established WorkCare North based in Alameda, where he served as the Executive Vice President until his death.

Whorton lived in the Oakland hills with his wife for over thirty years and was an active member in the community. He began a 21-year-long involvement with the local youth soccer leagues in 1985 as the coach of his son's team. After coaching, Whorton served as the Equipment Manager for Montclair Soccer Club and later as the club President. Whorton continued his contribution to youth soccer as the President of the Jack London Youth Soccer League, the Secretary for District 4 and the Secretary for the California Youth Soccer Association.

Whorton is survived by his wife, Diana Obrinsky; his children Matthew, Laura and Julie; his brothers Jerry, Bob and David; his uncle Art Siegal; his cousins Seth Siegal and Marilyn Chotem; five nieces and nephews; and four grandnieces and grandnephews.

There will be a memorial service to honor and celebrate Whorton's life at 11:30AM on Saturday, February 2 at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Regional Park.

David K. Washmuth

Posted: 2/1/2008


David Kile Washmuth passed away Tuesday evening, January 22, 2008, at his home in Yerington, Nevada, after a brave 4-1/2 year battle with Amyotophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). He was 54.

David was born in Ridgecrest, California, on January 19, 1954, the son of Harold and Joanne Washmuth.

David is known in Yerington as the man with the orange car. He had bought himself a Prowler and drove it until he could drive no more. He loved the outdoors and the beautiful high desert life he found in Nevada. He enjoyed mountain biking, snow skiing, Sand Mountain, Pyramid Lake, and anything that could go fast. He loved his family and friends and enjoyed get-togethers with each.

David was known for his quick wit and dry sense of humor. He was extremely intelligent and loved learning. He was an excellent cook and enjoyed good food. He worked for Jones West Ford in Reno for over 22 years before being diagnosed with ALS.

David is survived by his wife, Kathleen Brown Wasmuth; daughters Audrey Kresoja and Ashley Washmuth; his father, Harold Washmuth; his sisters, Judi Kroeger, Lisa Washmuth and Janet Washmuth Kile; nephews AJ Thurston, Jeffrey and Aaron Kroeger; nieces Staci Washmuth, Emmilee and Mary Risling; and his dog, Rufus.

He was preceded in death by his mother.

In keeping with David's wishes, no funeral service will be held. Cremation is under the direction of Freitas Rupracht Funeral Home, Yerington.

His family wants to thank all of his friends for throwing him a wake while he was still alive so he could enjoy it all with them.

Family and friends may sign the online guest book at www.FRFH.net.

Memorial donations may be made in David's name to ALS of Nevada, 6370 W. Flamingo #3, Las Vegas, Nevada 89103, or to Barton Memorial Hospice, 1615 Highway 395, Suite C, Minden, NV 89423.

http://news.rgj.com:80/apps/pbcs.dll...10463/1039/MVN

Otto M. Buerger III
Otto M. Buerger III died on Jan. 5, 2008 after a long illness of complications from Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 68. A long time resident of Sands Point, he graduated from Sands Point School (Now John Daly School) and Port Washington (now Carrie P. Weber) Junior High School.

Mr. Buerger was first recognized in Port Washington for his intellectual ability when he was co-winner of the 5th-grade American History Prize given by the American Legion. He received honors in classics at Phillips Academy, Andover, where he graduated in 1957, BA from Harvard College, MA in classics/Greek from Columbia University and MA in classics/Latin and C. Phil from UCLA. He taught Latin, English and history for a number of years at the Webb School in Claremont, CA.

Returning to Sands Point in 1985 and unable to find a teaching position in Latin, he finished his working career as an associate butcher at Grand Union and King Kullen supermarkets. Mr. Buerger was well known to Port Washington residents for his love of literature, his support of favorite political and environmental causes and his love of and knowledge about sports.

He is survived by his sisters, Helene E. Peck of La Jolla, CA, and Anne Luise Buerger of Sands Point.

Architect C. David Robinson dies
Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

C. David Robinson, an architect who left his mark all over Bay Area with buildings he designed, died at his Sausalito home Saturday from the complications of ALS, a debilitating illness also called Lou Gehrig's disease.

Mr. Robinson was 72.

Services will be Wednesday.

Mr. Robinson worked for several San Francisco architectural firms and among his achievements are museums and private residences, including the Center for the Arts in San Francisco's Yerba Buena Gardens, the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, and major renovations of Temple Emanu-el and the landmark Cliff House in San Francisco.

His restoration of the soaring, domed Temple Emanu-el was described as "flawless" by the late Chronicle architectural critic Allan Temko.

David Williams, who knew Mr. Robinson for 44 years and was his partner for 14 of them, said Mr. Robinson had "very, very high standards in terms of quality and design. He was hard to please, but generous and selfless in supporting the work and accomplishments of others."

Mr. Robinson was also active in cultural affairs and was on the boards of the San Francisco Art Institute, the University Art Museum at UC Berkeley, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the California College of the Arts, and the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association. He received SPUR's Silver Spur award for public service.

Chalfant David Robinson was born in New York in 1936, and graduated with honors from Princeton University with a degree in art history in 1957.

He then served as a Marine Corps officer for three years. He received a master of architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1965 and began his architectural career in San Francisco with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

In 1970, he was one of the co-founders of Robinson, Mills & Williams, which grew to be one of the five largest architectural firms in San Francisco. He joined Polshek and Partners as partner in charge of the San Francisco office, and in 1997 he founded C. David Robinson Architects.

He was a man of many parts - he and his wife, Mary, had a significant collection of contemporary art and photographs. Their collection of 19th century photographs is part of the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Robinson was also a star athlete in college, where he was captain of Princeton's ice hockey team and its crew teams. His family noted that he was good enough to participate in the crew trials for the 1960 Olympics. He also played rugby both in Pennsylvania and for the San Francisco Olympic Club.

He is survived by Mary Robinson, his wife of 43 years; a daughter, Annie Robinson Woods of San Francisco; two sons , Ward Robinson of Los Angeles, and Steven Robinson of New York; two brothers, Hamilton Robinson of New York, and Will Robinson of Maryland; and three sisters, Sandy Righter of Boston, Marshall Bickel of Frederick, Md., and Randle Bitnar of Bozeman, Mont. He is also survived by three grandchildren.

A service will be held Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Temple Emanu-el, at Arguello Boulevard and Lake Street in San Francisco.

The family prefers donations to the C. David Robinson Endowment Fund at the Bay Area Chapter of the ALS Association, 565 Commercial St., San Francisco, CA 94111.

Adrienne Hall, 81; advertising executive broke barriers for women

Adrienne A. Hall, who became a leader in the advertising industry at a time when few women held such positions and who later helped create prestigious organizations for high-achieving women, died Feb. 2 in a nursing home in Los Angeles from complications of Lou Gehrig's disease. She was 81.

In 1970, Hall and Joan Levine formed Hall & Levine Advertising, which was often described as the first U.S. advertising agency headed by women. The agency's clients included such companies as Max Factor and Neutrogena, said Stefanie Hall, Hall's daughter.


Role model

Six years after the agency was formed, the Western States Advertising Agency Assn. changed the name of its "Man of the Year Award" to "Advertising Award of the Year" and gave it to Hall and her partner.

"Adrienne Hall was a pioneer for women in the field of advertising, and a center of energy, creativity and community for women and pro-equality men in any field," said Hall's longtime friend Gloria Steinem. "She came from a generation in which women had to invent themselves, yet she invented a role model for generations to come."

After her agency was acquired by Foote, Cone & Belding, Hall served as vice chairman of the board at Eisaman, Johns & Laws Advertising Inc. from 1980 to 1994.

Throughout her career, Hall advocated the advancement and development of women in her industry and others. In 1982 she and other women founded the Committee of 200, a national members-only network for top-level businesswomen.

"A stable network of supportive relationships is absolutely essential for women in business," Hall told the Chicago Tribune in 1985. "Developing and maintaining a network ought to rate as a very high priority for women."

Because so many men are in management positions, they have built-in networks, Hall said. She searched for women "who've made it, who are at the top. We cross all political lines. Our point is working together."

Hall also was active in the International Women's Forum, a network of prestigious women's organizations in the U.S. and several foreign countries. In 1985 the network was estimated to have 1,000 members.

In addition to her work with women's groups, Hall served on the board of directors for the UCLA Foundation, had been a member of the Board of Regents at Loyola Marymount University since 1982, and sat on the advisory boards of several organizations and corporations.

Born Sept. 3, 1926, in Los Angeles, Hall graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1944. She attended UCLA and in 1949 married Maurice Hall. In addition to her daughter Stefanie, Hall is survived by her husband; sons Adam Hall, Todd Hall and Joe Hibbitt; and another daughter, Victoria Zawor, all of Los Angeles.

Memorial donations may be made to the Adrienne Hall Women's Mentoring Fund, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Office of External Affairs, 79 JFK Street, Box 123, Cambridge, MA 02138. Checks should be made out to Harvard University.

The eventful life of Bee Wee Captain Nigel Heath
By Anne Hilton Sunday, February 10 2008

Sonia Heath (left) Irene Martini (centre) and Nigel Heath in 1989, guests at the wedding of Penelope Hilton and Michael Munro....Born in Lahore, in what is now Pakistan, on February 6, 1930, when half of the world was coloured pink in the Atlases of that time, Nigel Heath was a child of the Raj. His father, George, was a Major in the Indian Army, his mother Phyllis, the daughter of a bandmaster. He died on February 2, 2008 in the UK — a country he only really got to know in the last ten or so years of his life.

He was in England with his mother on “long leave” when the Second World War broke out and since India was a long, long way away from the bombing while London wasn’t, somehow, no one knows quite how, Phyllis (a very determined lady) and Nigel got passages to India — and safety — on a troopship. It wasn’t the most comfortable voyage but for young Nigel it was an adventure spiced with real danger as U-boats prowled the sea-lanes.

At ten going on eleven it would have been time for Nigel to go to boarding school in England but in wartime parents in the Indian Army, Indian Civil Service and business preferred to send their sons to safety in an English-style boarding school in Naini Tal, a hill station in the Himalayas. In fact, Nigel Heath didn’t return to England until he was 19 or 20 — by which time, after a slightly shaky start, he had learned to fly (the legend is that he took off for a solo training flight in a Sopwith Camel and returned to the airfield riding a camel).

He began his lifelong career as a commercial airline pilot with an airline in India, flying cargo on the perilous route through the Himalayas to remote areas cut off from the outside world by natural disasters.

India and Pakistan gained Independence in 1947 — in this respect Nigel Heath witnessed the passing of an Empire — but never spoke of the catastrophic separation between those two Commonwealth countries.

Although the war was over, there was still conscription in England for young men aged 18 and over. Nigel Heath was over 18 when he and his family returned to England so that, as a British subject, he was conscripted into the RAF, was taught to fly all over again — a fact that made front-page headlines in London’s Daily Express at the criminal waste of taxpayer’s money in a country on the verge of bankruptcy.

When he completed his National Service, Nigel Heath applied for employment with British European Airways (BEA), and was accepted. If he thought his time “flying the hump” in India was hair-raising enough, he hadn’t bargained for more thrills when the USSR closed the roads to and from West Berlin and Nigel found himself as aircrew and second officer flying the narrow, crowded, dangerous air lanes of the Berlin Airlift.

Four or five years of living in the cold, damp, dreary world of post-war Britain was more than enough for Indian-born-and-bred Nigel. Butter, sugar, chocolates, clothing — even bread was rationed, few houses had central heating, Dickensian pea-souper smogs in winter killed the elderly and young children as Britons tried to keep warm huddled over coal fires.

One morning Nigel spotted a notice inviting applications for pilots for a six-month contract with British West Indian Airways; he only needed to persuade his fiancé, Sonia Rickman, who also worked with BEA, that instead of shivering and coughing in London, six months in the Caribbean would be a great way to start married life. She agreed and so, in 1954, Sonia and Nigel Heath got married, came to Trinidad on a six-month contract — and stayed here for the next 52 years.

Flying is stressful; airline pilots need regular breaks from flying — which leaves them with time on their hands; some devote their spare days to sport, or run a business on the side. Moreover, time off in cities in North America and the UK allows them to make useful business contacts. At one time Nigel and two other pilots got together to operate a Coney Island that travelled around Trinidad. Then as their boys David and Richard were old enough for school, Sonia took up painting as a hobby.

There were no professional framers in Trinidad in those days; Sonia asked Nigel to take her paintings to New York for framing. He did, found carrying them up no problem, but carrying framed paintings back was awkward. “Surely,” he thought, “I could make frames in my small workshop under the house.’”

He bought books on the subject, haunted the back rooms of framing shops in New York — and framed Sonia’s paintings. Friends admired his frames, asked Nigel to frame their work for them and before he knew it his “hobby” was taking up most of his spare time. To cut a long story short, the framing “hobby” outgrew the space under the house. “Fine Art Picture Framers” opened in Upper Frederick Street in premises now occupied by the Living Water Centre.

Nigel also imported prints and artist’s materials as well as frames for his business. Next he reckoned that he could make his own frames; he rented factory premises, imported machinery, learned the delicate art of applying gold leaf by breath and brush — and taught his employees to do the same. By the time he retired from active involvement in the business, “Fine Art” was exporting frames to other Caribbean islands, and to North America.

At the same time Nigel was involved with TALPA (Trinidad Airline Pilots Association) testifying in the Industrial Court to bring pay, working conditions and regulations for pilots up to International standards. Meanwhile his family was growing, his elder son David followed in his father’s footsteps, gained his pilot’s licence in the UK — and joined BWIA.

In fact between them father and son served BWIA for a total of 66 years — as long as the airline existed. David left Trinidad perforce when BWIA folded because, although he was a senior, experienced pilot, he was not offered employment with Caribbean Airlines; he is now flying with Easy Jet. Richard, the Heath’s younger son, is a successful architect now living in the UK. Their daughter, Lynda, is a dentist, also in the UK.

It was a close call that might have killed his daughter when she was driving downtown from the Heath’s home in Cascade and almost collided with a car breaking traffic regulations at the St Ann’s Roundabout, that prompted Nigel to design a plan for traffic from the Lady Young Road to drive around the St Ann’s Roundabout to St Ann’s Road instead of driving all the way round the Savannah. He himself was annoyed that he had to drive three miles out of his way every time he came back from a flight or drove home from the framing factory via the Lady Young. Even so, it took ten years (and a change of Government) for the traffic authorities to accept his plan — with a couple of improvements.

Typically, when the new, improved roundabout was opened Nigel refused the invitation to attend the official opening, he didn’t want the publicity. He shunned the limelight. It was enough that his plan had been carried out, that his daughter, and others in Cascade, St Ann’s were no longer in danger from mad drivers cutting across to St Ann’s from Lady Young.

Nigel retired from BWIA and, wanting to keep in closer touch with his two children, and grandchildren in England, bought a cottage near his younger son’s home. On average, every year he and Sonia spent about six months in England and six months in Trinidad; they liked being close to their family in England but liked to see old friends and David’s family in Trinidad.

After he retired Nigel and Sonia walked every morning in the Botanical Gardens until a couple of years ago when Nigel found he couldn’t walk up the hill any longer and he was always short of breath. He checked with doctors in the UK but they couldn’t find anything to explain his weakness. It was his doctor here who suggested Nigel might have MND, Motor Neuron Disease, aka amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

There is no treatment, so far as I know, for MND in Trinidad, Nigel was advised to go to the UK where the tentative diagnosis was confirmed. MND is a cruel disease, there is no cure, sometimes it progresses swiftly, sometimes patients get remission for a time, but ultimately it is fatal. Doctors can only, at best, alleviate some life-threatening symptoms as bit by bit, the patient becomes helpless, until he is utterly dependent on caregivers to feed, clothe, wash him, and yet his mind remains clear, lucid, he knows exactly what is happening around him — and to him.

Nigel and Sonia fought the disease tooth and nail, Sonia taking care of him as weakness claimed one function or another, Nigel refused to give in, insisting on driving the car even though he needed a motorised “scooter” to get around parks and supermarkets, airports and suchlike, a “walker” and a stair lift at home. He only accepted a wheelchair in the last two weeks of his life. He kept in constant touch with fellow MND sufferers all over the world via the Internet.

But at 3 am on February 2 Nigel Heath could fight no more. His friends here will miss him. Spare a thought for him, and his family and for all those who suffer from MND, whenever you pass “Fine Art” with its “made in Trinidad” framed photographs, prints and paintings, or drive around the St Ann’s Roundabout.

Leo Greene 1945-2008
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Reporter Leo Greene died late Friday night after battling ALS


A great voice is silenced Steve Lambert, Sun Editor Article Launched: 02/09/2008 06:18:04 PM PST
When I met Leo Greene, I wondered why this Peabody Award-winning broadcaster with the incredible voice was working for a newspaper.

It always seemed to be the other way around, with some of the great TV voices of our time - Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather among them - getting their starts as newspaper reporters.

But among Leo Greene's most endearing traits was a strong sense of tradition and deep-rootedness, which shone through like a beacon in his final days, weeks and months as he shared with the world his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, ALS progressively destroys motor neurons, usually resulting in death within a couple of years of diagnosis.

On Saturday, it took Leo Greene's life. But like the man whose initials and disease he shared, Leo will be remembered for his iron will under unfathomable adversity.

His award-winning series of columns and video reports, "Leo's Story," chronicled his fight with ALS in an effort to raise awareness of this horrific disease here and, through the magic of the Internet, around the world.

Along the way, he refused to mince words, telling - and showing - it like it is:

"Like an old neon sign, parts of my nervous system are buzzing, flickering, beginning to blink out," Leo wrote in August 2006. "As the neurons die, the muscles follow. My arms grow thin. I limp. My speech slurs. Two hands are needed to shave.

"I suffer from a disease called

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. I received the official diagnosis just 11 days ago. `... and there's no cure,' my doctor said, tucking the phrase into the end of a long sentence."
Time will tell if his candor will have raised enough awareness - and money - to help find a cure. As someone who has lost three close associates to the ravages of ALS during the past decade, I can attest to how badly it's needed.

In his last posting, earlier this month, Leo wrote of an encouraging Italian medical study that showed how the mood-stabilizing drug lithium slowed progression of the disease among ALS patients who were tested.

"These results are fascinating and exciting," Dr. Laura Nist, director of Loma Linda University Medical Center's ALS clinic, told Leo.

With that, he signed off, ending his story with a glimmer of hope.


It's now up to the rest of us to carry his message forward, drawing inspiration from words, images and videos forever preserved online (www.dailybulletin.com/leosstory) and in our hearts.

God bless you, Leo. Even in print, that incredible voice of yours has been heard loud and clear.

http://www.sbsun.com/columnists/ci_8218912