One of the Parkinson's magazines in Australia, honored one of our own, this week, Alan Bonander.
For those not privileged of knowing Alan Bonander, he was one of us, talking the talk, walking the talk, and making the difference. We lost Alan this summer.
National and international Parkinson's organizations are about money, Alan Bonander was about humanity, those with Parkinson's and other neurological disorders. Organizations collect and spend money, Alan freely gave of himself and his resources to whomever was in need...even to talk to another distraught parkinsonian, in the middle of the night. He traveled far and wide sharing his intellect, and listening to those who needed a listener.
I, like many of you who were charter members of the parkinsn listserv, grew to be acquainted with Alan, through his thoughtful questions and answers that he had come across and shared with us. Many of Alan's writings became the framework of what evolved into the Current Parkinson's Topics that many of you order from the archives. Sadly, the measure of a man's true stature is not truly appreciated by his peers, in his lifetime.
With this message, I would propose to each of the National Parkinson's organizations, the establishment of a Parkinson's Hall of Honor....for those whe have served their peers...above and beyond the call of duty. Of these candidates, I would propose the nominating criteria use Alan Bonander and his contributions as a standard to measure nominees.
These are the messages we last shared:
Date: Sun, 4 Aug 1996 11:31:12 -0400
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Alan Bonander's death - from his son Jason
This is a general note to everyone out there who knew my dad -
it's remarkable the number of people who in the past two days
have called or emailed to express their own deep sense of loss
for a man many of whom had never met. He was a wonderful man; a
man who was able to touch so many people through this medium; a
medium, through this demonstration, that has proven to be such a
critical source of outreach. No doubt through his memory and
the number of people whom he has touched, the hightened
awareness of parkinson's disease predominantly in the young will
continue to light the torch of action; to strengthen the
necessary bonds of support groups; and to assist those of you
who struggle daily to overcome the physical and emotional
bindings that PD can tie one with. With eternal gratitude and a
deep sense of loss, Jason Bonander
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Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 11:30:36 -0400
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Alan Bonander
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
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[log in to unmask] That man may last, but never lives,
Who much receives, but nothing gives;
HomeBoy #Parkinsons Whom none can love, whom none can thank,--
Creation's blot, creation's blank.
John Cottingham Thomas Gibbons (1720-1785): When Jesus dwelt.
