Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk: Denver, CO…

My friends,
This year, I am walking with my friends in Colorado in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk ’06 on Saturday, September 16 in Denver’s City Park. This year, our walking group hopes to raise a total of $6,000 to help those in the community battling this crippling disease. (I reside in New Hampshire but will be visiting Denver the weekend of the Memory Walk.)
I decided to walk this year because of my great aunt, Eleanor A. Dwyer. Born in 1899, she was my father’s aunt and was a remarkably brilliant woman. Honestly, she was the smartest human being I’ve ever known. She was also a pioneer: she was one of the first women in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to pass that state’s bar exam. In addition to being a lawyer in private practice, she also was the first woman in Massachusetts to attain the post of Deputy Attorney General of the Commonwealth when she served under former Massachusetts Attorney General (and later U.S. Attorney General) Elliot Richardson. She would eventually serve six attorneys general of the Commonwealth.
As a child, she was my hero and an inspiration. She was also the closest thing I ever had to a grandmother.
She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in the late 1980′s and, over the next sixteen or seventeen years, she deteriorated slowly. The disease took away everything she was–violinist, golfer, lawyer, card player–and it left her a shell of the person I knew. She finally passed away in April of 1995 at the age of 95.
I walk this year in her memory, as I will every year that I am able.
I don’t normally do this—ask people to donate to causes. However, this is a cause that I believe in and I would ask for your consideration. If you’re not in a position to help, I certainly understand.
If you are in a position to and wish to donate, please know that I would be very grateful for your support. Please use the link below to access the secure web site for making a donation:
Alzeheimer’s Association Memory Walk ’06 Donation Site
In any event, please accept my thanks for your time.
Regards,
William Smith