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Thank you, all of you, for your wonderful words about my husband.  We
celebrated our thirty-third wedding anniversary in June, and I wanted to
share with you a part of Alan that you probably didn't know.  He was "the son
of a preacher-man."  His father, both grandparents, and on and on back into
history, there had been ministers and missionaries in his family.  But Alan
marched to a different drummer, no matter how many times his mother urged, in
her subtle way, that he follow in the footsteps of his ancestors.  His
analytical mind was ripe for the computer age, and he was a genius at it.
 Then along came Parkinson's.  That nasty, greedy disease that began to rob
him of his strength, his desire to work with his hands, his outer-self.  It
was Dr. Matt Kurth and his infusion therapy that turned things around for
Alan.  I'm afraid I would have lost him years before had it not been for that
perfect timing.  Then, because of his infusion and his interest in his
disease, he became the minister, the missionary his parents had wanted him to
be.  I have no doubt of this, especially when I read all of your comments.
 Sharing what he knew gave him pleasure.  I will admit that many times I
cursed the computer age, for he spent hours and hours and hours on the
internet, sharing, advising, helping, while I wondered if he would ever take
a few minutes out for himself.  The thing was, he WAS doing this for himself.
 It made him feel good.  On rare occasions, the phone would ring and he'd
tell me he wasn't able to talk to whomever called.  It was important that he
be there for everyone.  If that isn't a ministry, I don't know what is.  I'll
miss him.  This has been a very difficult thing for me to write, because it
leaves my feelings raw.  But it had to be done.  Again, I thank each of you
for your thoughts and prayers.  He was a great husband and father.  Brother
and son-in-law.  My parents couldn't have loved him more if he were there
own.  And he was a missionary extrordinaire.  Best always, Jane Bonander