FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Nathan Slewett
(305) 547-3898
September 6, 1995
UDALLS JOIN NATIONAL PARKINSON FOUNDATION
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
MIAMI, FL--Nathan Slewett, Chairman of the Board of the National Parkinson
Foundation, announced that former Congressman Morris K. Udall and his wife,
Norma Udall, have been elected to the NPF Board of Governors. In making the
announcement, Mr. Slewett expressed his profound pleasure in being able to
work along side of Congressman and Mrs. Udall in NPF's ultimate quest to
find the cause and cure for Parkinson's disease.
Congressman Udall retired from the U.S. House of Representatives in 1991
after thirty years of service. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease
fifteen years earlier and now lies in a hospital bed where he has been since
January, 1991. He is completely incapacitated, unable to speak or read or
write. But he enjoys visitors, smiles when he recognizes them, and listens.
On Mo Udall's retirement, letters came from across the country and around the
world, many from Parkinson's patients. Special floor time was allocated in
the House of Representatives for his colleagues to deliver tributes to his
thirty year career. Even though he was absent, hundreds attended his
retirement reception, including then President George Bush.
One of the finest tributes that Mo has ever received is the introduction of
the Morris K. Udall Parkinson Act by Senator Mark Hatfield, (R-OR),
Representative Henry Waxman, (D-CA) and numerous other members of the House
and Senate, according to his wife Norma.
Norma Udall, is presently committed to two missions: to assist in the search
for the cure for Parkinson's disease and to promote her husband's concerns
through scholarships in the fields of environmental and Native American
studies. For sixteen years Norma Udall worked in the government relations
field as Director of Public Affairs for a national public interest
organization and as a corporate lobbyist for a major international company.
