Cop was 'phenomenal,' say friends
Folks can honor the memory of the late Roy Wells at his life celebration Aug. 3
By Sean Patrick Murphy; Staff Writer

One of Roy Wells' last requests was that people celebrate his life, not mourn his death.On Sunday, Aug. 3 there will be a life celebration from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Maple Shade 25 Club, at 60 E. Rudderow Ave.

"Roy wanted a party," Wells' brother, Rob, said.

Rob said Wells' family is grateful for all of the people who pitched in and helped raise money to make his house handicapped accessible and to help pay bills.

Wells was diagnosed about five years ago with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. It is a terminal illness for which there is no known cure.

Wells, 41, leaves behind his wife Stephanie and three children, aged 21, 17 and 16.

"Roy was a phenomenal human being," Rob said. "He was an incredible husband, an awesome father."

Wells coached soccer, was a D.A.R.E. officer and was part of an E.M.T. squad.

"Roy really signified what it was to be a civil servant and a good human being," Rob said.

Wells and Stephanie were married for 20 years.

His father and uncle were police officers in Maple Shade for about 30 years.

"It's kind of a family business," Rob said.

Wells died July 22 with his wife by his side. Rob said the family got to say goodbye before Wells died.

Wells will be remembered as being a great person and a great friend, Rob said.

"Everybody that he touched had something incredibly good to say about him," Rob said.

Police officer Mark

Woodland had known Wells since he started as an officer and is a friend of the family for as much as 20 years.

Woodland said Wells was a very good officer and was great with families. His personality is what made him unique, Woodland said, noting he never saw Roy get angry.

"He was just one of the guys everybody liked," Woodland said. "He always had a kind word to say to everybody and he's going to be missed."

Police officer Misty Weiss knew Wells from when she joined the force in 1999.

She said Wells was outgoing, friendly, nice to be around and was always available if you needed him.

"Wells would go out of his way to fix the problem without hurting other people," Weiss said. "Wells leaves behind a legacy. We'll never forget him."

Mario Medero, clinic founder, dies at 56

By NASEEM S. MILLER
Star-Banner


Published: Friday, August 1, 2008 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, August 1, 2008 at 5:51 a.m.


OCALA - Dr. Mario Medero, an Ocala physician and founder of Medero Medical clinics, died last Friday at his home in Ocala. He was 56.


He died of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, said his wife of 13 years, Laura.

Medero was diagnosed with the disease nine years ago and lived longer than the two- to five-year life expectancy.

"He was very brave and he fought [ALS]," Laura Medero said. "He had a lot of hope that they'll come up with a cure in his time. He tried not to let [ALS] stop him and tried to acquire all the medical equipment that helped him stay active."

Medero was the son of a teacher and a plumber and was the first in his family to go to medical school.

He completed his medical degree at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He finished his internship and residency in general surgery at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

In the mid-1980s he founded Medero Medical, an occupational medicine facility for injured workers, and grew it to six clinics in Central Florida.

"He was an extremely dedicated and intelligent physician," said Cookie Dominie, director of operations for the company, who has worked with Medero for 21 years. Dominie said Medero was a visionary businessman and a caring person.

"He wanted to make sure workers were taken care of. He cared about the blue-collar workers," she said.

Medero also loved the Florida outdoors and activities.

His favorite hobby was deep-sea fishing. In 2001, after his diagnosis, he went to Cuba for a fishing tournament.

Medero enjoyed getting on his tractor and working around the family farm in Orange Lake, said his wife. The family eventually sold its farm because of Medero's disease. He also loved working on his boat in the Keys.

Medero was active in his clinic for several years after being diagnosed with ALS. He had an electric wheelchair at each of his clinics so he could get around and see patients.

But the progression of the disease finally stopped him.

ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that usually attacks both upper and lower motor neurons and causes degeneration throughout the brain and spinal cord, according to the ALS Association. There are limited options for treatment and there's no cure.

Medero stopped going to the clinics two years ago and it bothered him that he couldn't go, said his wife. "He used his hands and needed his hands and that was one of the first muscle groups that were affected," she said.

Medero enjoyed spending time with his family and three children, Hunter Rose, 11, Taylor Wade, 10, and David Marcus, 7. He was happy to experience being a father again, his wife said. Medero has two children from a previous marriage, Mario Antonio, 30, and Megan Kristine, 23.

Medero's death was not sudden, because of the gradual progression of the disease. ALS eventually affects the lungs, and the patients stop breathing.

Although he's gone, he has left those around him with valuable life lessons.

"One of his favorite things to say to me was, 'everyday is a school day,' " Laura Medero said. "That's something I'll carry with me."

"He loved life. He hated sleep and would say it's a waste of time. He lived a lot more than a lot of people. And he's in heaven now, walking around with a big smile," she said.

Naseem Miller may be reached at naseem.miller@starbanner.com

Skilled draftsman loved flying, but becoming a geezer beat it all
By Kimberly Matas
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.07.2008

Larry Cowell was a geezer and proud of it.
He said as much in the autobiography he wrote for family members and friends, titled "How I Became a Geezer."
As the only child of Harold, a bookkeeper, and Hannah, a nurse, Cowell thought it was important to record his family history for his children, grandchildren and generations beyond.
He recounted his Midwestern childhood, learning to fly airplanes at 16, flying reconnaissance missions during World War II, a bicycle trip from Detroit to Mexico City during college, starting a family, building two airplanes in his Midtown Tucson backyard, his 26 years as a draftsman and designer at Kitt Peak National Observatory, and traveling the world.
Copies of Cowell's autobiography were handed out during his memorial service last week. Cowell died on July 12 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 84.
Cowell had long been fascinated by air travel. He took his first flight at age 14 in Michigan. He had saved a few bucks from his paper route and a job as a golf caddie. He and a friend hitchhiked to Pontiac Municipal Airport and paid to go up in a two-seater open-cockpit plane, with Cowell sitting on his friend's lap so they'd both fit.
After that, Cowell was hooked. He signed up for flying lessons, paying the $7-an-hour fee first with his paper-route money and later cleaning planes in exchange for lessons.
He made his first solo flight on Nov. 9, 1940, an event that left Cowell feeling like "the happiest 16-year-old in the world," he wrote in his autobiography.
His skills served him well during World War II, when he enlisted in the Army Air Forces and was tapped to fly reconnaissance missions over Europe.
On his first mission over Germany, he looked down on the city of Cologne to see anti-aircraft shells bursting all around.
"It was frightening, but later I was to get used to this. In 51 missions, I don't think any of them were without some anti-aircraft fire," he wrote. "I didn't survive the war because I was smart; I was just lucky."
Cowell used money from the GI Bill to go to Wayne State University in Michigan and earn a bachelor's degree in liberal arts.
During the late 1940s, Cowell became involved in politics, campaigning for unsuccessful Progressive Party presidential candidate Henry Wallace. He met his future wife, "a pretty little blonde named Betty," while painting signs at campaign headquarters in downtown Pontiac. After graduation, Cowell tried to make a living as a writer, but his rejection letters didn't pay the bills.
A friend who was working at Pontiac Millwork Co. as a draftsman knew Cowell had an aptitude for drawing and got him a job. There, Cowell learned that he liked to design things.
"I loved the drawing, and even more, I loved seeing things being built that I had helped to fashion," he wrote.
When Betty's health began to fail, the Cowell family packed up, intent on moving to a warmer climate in California. They made it as far as Tucson and fell in love with the desert city. The timing was perfect. Kitt Peak National Observatory was being built, and the chief engineer needed draftsmen to work in the Tucson office. It was a job that would last 26 years.
"I worked a lot with Larry doing the same thing — a designer. I had a pretty good idea about his skills, which were exceptional," said Arden Petri, who worked at Kitt Peak for 33 years.
Cowell's job, said former Kitt Peak electrical engineer Vern Russell, was drawing "the physical parts of instruments and telescopes, the metal that makes up an instrument. He would draw up what it should look like. He was very good at it."
Cowell's design skills and his easygoing personality endeared him to colleagues.
"Larry didn't have any enemies. None. He put up with people I wouldn't put up with; they were nincompoops," Dale Schrage said.
"He was the top guy. Whenever you had an important instrument, he was in charge of it," Schrage said. "Larry produced the conceptual design, the drawing for it. His contributions to the technologists were very great. He drew a lot of great instruments, and they all worked."
One thing he and Cowell didn't see eye to eye on was air travel. Schrage refused to fly in the wood-framed, two-seat, open-cockpit plane Cowell built in his Midtown backyard.
"I have a Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering," Schrage said. "I don't go up in anything that's not made out of metal and doesn't have more than one engine."
But Petri finally did brave the friendly skies with Cowell.
"I went up with him one time, and that was fun," Petri said. "He let me take the controls for a while. We flew all over Avra Valley."
The first of two planes Cowell built was a Pietenpol Aircamper. He began construction in 1969. Working on the plane in his spare time, he estimated it took about 1,500 hours to construct at a cost of $2,500.
Cowell took his first flight in the Pietenpol in 1976. The low-key man described the flight as "uneventful" in a journal he kept of the plane's metamorphosis from a pile of lumber to a flying machine.
Cowell later built a biplane in his backyard.
He and Betty had three children. David and Jenny grew up in Michigan. Mitzi Cowell, a local musician, was born in Tucson. She was one of the early passengers in the Pietenpol.
"There's something about being supported by the wind. It was never scary to me as a child," Mitzi said. "He would have fun with you. He would do some kind of fun turns that would make your stomach wind up in your mouth."
In retirement, Cowell traveled the world with his wife. When Betty died in 1992, Cowell traveled with his children. In 1994, he remarried. He and his wife, Joan, also began globe-trotting, and Cowell continued tinkering with his plane and taking flights over Tucson.
"He had an attitude that anything you put your mind to you can do," Mitzi said.
Yet in the closing chapter of his autobiography, the modest Cowell attributed his success to good fortune, more so than personal fortitude:
"So, this is how I became a geezer. It wasn't through any talent I have. It was luck. It seems to me that I have had more good luck than anyone else that I have ever known."
● To suggest someone for Life Stories, contact reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or at 573-4191. Read more from this reporter at go.azstarnet.com/lastwrites.

http://www.azstarnet.com:80/allheadlines/251692

After sister's death, family realizes breadth of her small world

By PAUL GRONDAHL, Staff writer
Last updated: 5:26 p.m., Thursday, August 7, 2008

NISKAYUNA -- Born with Down syndrome and unable to speak, Rosemary Amazon seemed to exist in her own, small sphere.

Listening to music soothed her. The Beatles were her favorite, especially ``I Want To Hold Your Hand.''

She stood 4-foot-5 and weighed barely 100 pounds. Her family called her Rosy.

Her piercing blue eyes seemed to peer into one's soul as she lay dying this week of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, often referred to as ``Lou Gehrig's disease.''

The youngest of six siblings, she lived with their mother until age 39 at the family's Keyes Avenue home, until glaucoma took her mother's eyesight and she could no longer care for Rosy.

Rosy spent the past 11 years in a Niskayuna group home for mentally retarded adults.

``She was very lively and led a wonderful life,'' said Melissa Bender, director of residential services for the Center for Disability Services.

As a volunteer, Rosy put the salt and pepper into food containers for Meals on Wheels. She helped make dog biscuits for the Humane Society. She enjoyed bowling, rock concerts and swimming. She helped her sisters make a favorite family meal, ziti and meatballs.

Rosy had defied for so long doctors' expectations that she would die young that it came as a shock when she was diagnosed with ALS in April. For months, they had assumed it was the onset of arthritis after her hands and wrists became stiff and lost strength.

Rosy, of course, was unable to say what was wrong.

But her siblings knew she felt things deeply. Once, a boy riding past on a bike yelled ``Retard!'' Sheila looked over and saw tears running down Rosy's cheeks.

Her sister Jenny had taken Rosy into her Delmar home last Friday. Her five siblings gathered around Rosy's beside to offer comfort in her final days.

``It was so inspirational. She accepted everything with a smile,'' said her sister, Sheila Spraragen.

``She had such grace and beauty and dignity,'' said her brother, Dana Amazon. ``She was pure love.''

What they had always considered Rosy's small and limited world was nothing of the sort. They came to understand just how wide her impact had been in an outpouring of condolences after her death Tuesday at age 50.

``She touched so many lives,'' Connors said. ``I think she had more friends than all of us.''

A Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Helen's Church, 1803 Union St., Niskayuna. Memorial contributions may be made to the Center for Disability Services Foundation, 319 S. Manning Blvd., Albany, NY 12208.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...storyID=710076

Dean L. Jones
Thursday, August 07, 2008 The Oregonian
A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008, in St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Portland for Dean L. Jones, who died Aug. 2 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at age 85.

Dean L. Jones was born Jan. 26, 1923, in Oak Creek, Colo. During World War II, he served in the Navy in the South Pacific. He graduated from Southern Oregon College of Education and received a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He moved to Portland in 1948. He was a partner in the insurance firm of Jewett, Barton Leavy & Kern for more than 30 years. He served on the boards of the Parry Center and Rosemont School. In 1947, he married Evelyn M. Wirostek.

Survivors include his wife; son, Charles L.; and sister, Francis Gregory.


Remembrances to Duck Athletic Fund in Eugene. Arrangements by Finley's.

Craig Mackey
August 8, 2008


Craig Merlin Mackey lost his battle against ALS/Lou Gehrig's Disease, but was truly blessed as he was set free from his earthly body on Tuesday, July 29, 2008. He was 56 years old.

Craig was a partner in the CPA firm Kafoury, Armstrong and Co. in the Las Vegas office. He was especially proud to be associated with wonderful colleagues, staff and clients.
Craig loved life, bass fishing, golfing, a good cigar, and a dirty martini. One of the highlights of each year would include the various adventures planned by his cousins and travel buddies, Gerry and Becky Kolesiak. From wine tasting throughout California to golfing in Hawaii, to cruising Alaska's interior passage, Craig live life to the fullest and was excited as each new experience unfolded before him.

We will miss his smile, wit, goodness and his caring and kind manner.

His friends and family will forever treasure many happy memories.

Craig leaves behind his wife of 35 years, Teresa; son Alex; daughter Janna Nicole; mother Belle Mackey; brother Cecil (Patty) Mackey; sister Diana Mominee; in-laws James and Aida Betty and Jim and Cathy Betty; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and many dear friends.

He was proceeded in death by his daughter Jenna Miranda; father George Mackey; brother-in-law Ben Mominee; and nephew Russell Mackey.

Services were held on Sunday, August 3, at the Mountain View Mortuary, 425 Stoker Ave., Reno, NV. A reception followed.

In lieu of flowers, we request that donations be sent in honor of Craig Mackey to "ALS of Nevada", 6370 W. Flamingo Suite 3, Las Vegas, NV, 89103.



http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...80417/1039/MVN

Ronald C. Schumacher

BEAVER DAM, Wis. - Ronald C. Schumacher, 52, of Beaver Dam went to his heavenly home after a long battle with ALS on Monday, Aug. 4, 2008, at University Hospital in Madison surrounded by his family.

The visitation for Ron will be at Murray Funeral Home in Beaver Dam on Friday, Aug. 8, from 4 to 7 p.m. and at St. Katharine Drexel Parish, 127 W. Maple Ave., Beaver Dam, on Saturday, Aug. 9, from 9:30 a.m. until time of Mass. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Katharine Drexel Parish,

127 W. Maple Ave., Beaver Dam, on Saturday, Aug. 9, at 11 a.m. Father John Schreiter will officate. Burial will follow the Mass at St. Peter's Cemetery in the town of Beaver Dam, where military graveside services will be conducted.

Ronald Carl Schumacher was born Jan. 21, 1956, in Richland Center, Wis., to Ronald and Kathleen (Herlitz) Schumacher. He was a 1974 graduate of the Richland Center High School. He served in the U.S. Army from 1975 to 1977, working for NATO for 15 months while stationed in Germany. Ronald was united in marriage to Jean Guenther on Sept. 21, 1985, at St. Columbkille Catholic Church in Astico, Wis. The marriage was blessed with two children. He is a past member of the Tomah, Mauston, Sparta and West Salem, Wis., Lions Club, and past member of the Sparta American Legion Post. Ron was a 1981 graduate of the University of Arizona and was sales finance manager for Waupaca Housing in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. Ron has been battling ALS since 1999. He was a member of St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Beaver Dam.

Ron is survived by his wife, Jean Schumacher of Beaver Dam; his two children, Gabrielle and Jordyn, both at home; his father, Ronald L. Schumacher of Richland Center, Wis.; his sister, Debra Phillips of Iowa; his mother-in-law, Hedwig Guenther of Reeseville, Wis.; many brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Ron was preceded in death by his mother; his brother, William Schumacher; his father-in-law, Lawrence Guenther; two brothers-in-law, Larry Lenz and Myron Nehring, his "co-conspirator in crime"; his sister-in-law, Rosie Nehring; and his great-uncle Charlie.

Murray Funeral Home in Beaver Dam is caring for the family. Online condolences may be offered at http://www.murrayfh.com/.

Former police chief of Idaho town succumbs to ALS
By MEGHANN M. CUNIFF | The Spokesman-Review • Published August 11, 2008


Jason Felton lost his ability to speak several months ago.
Lou Gehrig's disease had left most of his body immobile and the former Hayden Lake police chief relied on his eyes to communicate. Family, friends and nurses who visited at the home Felton shared with his wife, Cynde, would hold up a series of alphabet letters and follow his eyes to the correct one, piecing together words and, ultimately, sentences.
It was through that careful process that Felton, 54, told his family it was time for him to go.

"His mind was 100 percent, trapped in a body that would not work," said his brother, Richard Felton.

Family and friends gathered around him Friday as his ventilator was unplugged. More than a thousand people, including law officers from across the region, are expected at his memorial service Wednesday.

A motorcade with at least 100 squad cars will drive through the Rathdrum Prairie to Hayden Lake City Hall before Felton's burial at the Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens. Bagpipers and a full honor guard will attend.

Diagnosed in 2006 with the disease formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Felton retired as police chief after more than 27 years, and then lived about a year and half longer than doctors expected. ALS gradually withers away the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control muscles, causing the muscles to weaken and waste away. The eyes are the last to go, and Jason Felton's eyes were almost there.

The community rallied around Felton when he retired as the city's only police officer. More than 700 people attended a fundraiser, and he was honored during the Hayden Days parade in 2006.

"I had no idea how big his family of friends was," Richard Felton said. "People from all over the state kept calling, saying, 'Can we just come by and see Jay?' It's pretty incredible."

Kootenai County sheriff's Capt. Ben Wolfinger called Felton "a great guy."

"He loved being a cop, and he loved being a public servant. That was just his life," Wolfinger said.

Felton was born in Spokane and moved to Moscow around the age of 10 when his mother married Robert T. Felton, a district court judge. He became Hayden Lake's sole police officer in 1979. He and his wife have five grown children.

"He liked the simple things in life," said his sister-in-law, Tamara Felton. "He loved to fish and have bonfires. He loved to cut wood. He loved to sit outside with Cynde and watch lightning storms."
Hayden Lake Mayor Nancy Morris worked with Felton for more than 20 years at Hayden Lake City Hall, where she served as city clerk until 2003.

"He was good for our city, and I think we were probably good for him, too," she said.

Patrolling the 6-square-mile town for as long as he did meant he knew pretty much everyone, and understood their situations, said Tom Gorman.

Gorman joined the Hayden Lake City Council after Felton retired but knew him through police interactions over the years. He recalled Felton pulling over his then-16-year-old daughter for speeding several years ago.

Felton knew the family had recently put larger tires on the car.

"That's why you're going so fast. Remember that," Gorman recalled Felton saying before letting the girl go with a warning. "He knew when to be tough and when to be lenient."

Felton told The Spokesman-Review in June 2006 that he planned to dedicate his time to researching ALS and seeking alternative medicines to help fight it. But Morris said Felton was realistic about his fate. He showed up at her home after he was diagnosed to share the news.

"He and I sat out there and bawled for a half an hour," she said. "I told him he'd win, but he said, 'No, there's no winning.'"



http://www.theolympian.com:80/northw...ry/539689.html

Carolyn R. Barton (1953-2008)

Carolyn Rebecca Barton, age 55, passed from this life Aug. 7 after a brave battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease.) Carolyn was a graduate of Oberlin College and received her PhD in biology from the University of Wisconsin in 1981. A resident of Alameda for the past 8 years, she lived in Foster City for 10 years prior to that.

She worked at Applied Biosystems in Foster City. Carolyn was most proud of her accomplishments in biotechnology that contributed to the effort to sequence the human genome. She took up sailing in mid-life, navigated the family boat and was not afraid to try new things.

As a participant in clinical trials to test therapies for ALS, Carolyn found hope and contributed to the knowledge that she knew would one day help others. Carolyn's Crusaders, a team walking in her honor in the Bay Area Walk to D'Feet ALS, raised over $10,000. She is mourned by her husband Mario Sepulveda, children Stephen R, Annmarie and Alexandra Sepulveda, sisters Louise Miller (Melville "De" Miller) of New Jersey, Anne Wittke (Barry Malpas) of Flagstaff, AZ, Betsy Barton of Durham, NC and Mary Barton (Beth Biegelsen) of Chevy Chase, MD, brothers Edgar E. Barton, Jr. of Wilmington, NC, John Barton of Alpine, CA and Jim Barton of Asheville, NC, and 10 nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Carolyn may be made to the Forbes Norris Clinic at California Pacific Medical Center PO Box 45234 San Francisco, CA 94145-0234.

Longtime Bessemer city judge Jackie McDougal dies at age 68
Friday, August 15, 2008
ROBERT K. GORDON
News staff writer
Longtime Bessemer city Judge Jackie McDougal died Thursday after a bout with Lou Gehrig's disease.

Mr. McDougal was 68. He recently left the bench and shut down his law practice as a result of his illness.

Mr. McDougal had been a municipal judge for 33 years. His friends held a retirement ceremony for him last week at the Bessemer Civic Center.

"He was straight as an arrow," Bessemer Circuit Clerk Earl Carter said. "He treated everybody the same. Everybody knew Judge McDougal would treat everyone the same. I never heard a negative thing about him."

Mr. McDougal, who started practicing law in 1969, did work for a time after being diagnosed with the disease and made his way around the courthouse in a motorized wheelchair.

He made an unsuccessful run for circuit judge in 1998.

"He had a unique way of dealing with people," said Circuit Judge Mac Parsons, who won that 1998 election. "He empathized with people. Whenever someone was before him, he spoke in a soft, low voice. That was a sign of respect for the person. He impressed me."

Lawyer Ralph "Buddy" Armstrong was a high school classmate of Mr. McDougal's.

"I've practiced law in front of Jackie ever since he's been on the bench," Armstrong said. "I never left his court thinking that my client hadn't been treated fairly."

Viewing will be today from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Peoples Chapel Funeral Home. A graveside service will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

E-mail: rgordon@bhamnews.com