When Chris Shimon says, “I like to stay busy,” he isn’t joking.

The youngest of five children, Chris started his first business—landscaping and helping seniors with various odd jobs—when he was only 9 years old. “Then I had a paper route, and in high school I was on the track team,” he says.

Now, at the age of 53, Chris is an assistant activities coordinator at a care center for seniors. “When I was young I was always friends with older people, and now working with seniors is my expertise,” Chris says. “I have really enjoyed working here for 12 years because each of my clients is like family to me. I just love helping others.”

His giving nature is also reflected in Chris’ volunteer work in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa community. In addition to his work with the Alzheimer’s Association and other organizations, Chris was an operator at his local MDA Telethon for more than 20 years.

“All the kids I’ve seen during the Telethons really touch my heart,” Chris says. “I volunteered at the Telethons each year because I want to help these kids walk someday.”

Along with his volunteer support, Chris has made a generous gift to MDA in his will.

“I am satisfied my estate plans are in place. I hope my gift will help MDA find a cure for muscle diseases, sooner rather than later. My goal is to help others achieve their goals and MDA’s mission of finding cures is an important one.”

Paul Candide Fafard, the youngest of eight children, has experienced a life full of challenges, achievements, recognition, joys, sorrows and most of all, hope. His challenges began early, when his mother passed away just three months after his birth. His father was distraught, and may have partly blamed Paul for her death. His father sent him to an orphanage where he remained for six years before his father reclaimed him.

By the age of 8, Paul was playing violin in the Fafard Family Ensemble with his father, stepmother and five of his siblings, all of whom were talented musicians. The Ensemble appeared in New York City’s Town Hall in November, 1950. Paul’s father was a disciplinarian and task master with all of his children, so as soon as Paul turned 18, he struck out on his own and enlisted in the Army. Because of his musical talents, Paul was assigned to the Army Band. After his service, he worked in the U.S. Post Office and retired after 30 years of service.

During all those years, Paul was never far from his music. He was always composing on his instrument of choice, the piano. In 1987, one of Paul’s compositions entitled “Philadelphia, 1787” was aired on the CBS television special, “We the People . . . The Constitutional Gala.” In 1988, Shirley Jones, Vicki Carr, Gary Morris and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club sang some of Paul’s Christmas compositions for President and Mrs. Reagan during NBC’s broadcast of the 7th annual “Christmas in Washington” gala. These have been just a few of Paul’s achievements, which brought him both joy and recognition.

No life is full of only wonderful things. While living in the upper west side of New York City for the last 45 years, Paul has been the victim of eight different muggings, but he is grateful that he has never been injured. Four of Paul’s brothers have passed on, and he too, inherited the heart disease that took his brothers’ lives. These are some of the sorrows Paul has experienced.

Nevertheless, Paul continues to have hope. He considers himself “a work in progress until my last day on Earth.” He hopes to have more music published. He hopes to be alive when MDA’s research produces more treatments – perhaps even cures – for neuromuscular diseases. If he is not alive to see those breakthroughs, Paul has arranged for his hope to live on through the bequest he made to MDA in his Last Will& Testament so that MDA can continue its efforts to eradicate muscular dystrophy and related diseases.

Roberta Peters has been active all her life. She taught physical education and coached students of all ages for 25 years.

Now retired and living in Hawaii, Roberta keeps physically fit by running up the two flights of steps at her home, body surfing and playing Olympic-style badminton.

“To stay in shape you have to do something you love, and I’m in love with badminton. It’s the most fun game I’ve ever played, and it’s a great workout.”

Roberta never takes her good health for granted. In fact, she treasures it probably more than most people because she watched both her mother and aunt live with ALS—amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

“My late aunt was diagnosed with ALS first, and she used a wheelchair and wasn’t able to speak,” Roberta explained. “My mom had bulbar onset ALS, so her speech was slurred and I had to grind her food because she had difficulty swallowing. She also insisted on trying to walk even though she had a limp.”

During the time Roberta cared for her mother before she passed away, MDA was there to help. “MDA provided us with information about her disease and even gave her a scooter when she needed it,” Roberta said. “I’m so appreciative for what MDA did for my mom.”

Because MDA was there for her mother when she needed help, Roberta has made a generous commitment to MDA through her estate plan. As a member of MDA’s Legacy Society, Roberta’s generosity will help accelerate treatments and uncover cures for ALS and other related life-threatening diseases.

“My dream is to end ALS,” Roberta said. This gift in my estate plan, in my mother’s and aunt’s name, is designated for ALS research because I want a cure.”

After a few seconds in the presence of Lenore Emmanuelli, one immediately thinks of the phrase “larger than life.” And after meeting this colorful, caring human being with blue eyes and a magnanimous smile, everyone becomes an instant friend.

Lenore gained our attention when she called MDA’s South Florida office to ask for the Association’s correct name and the legal language needed to include MDA in her estate plans. Getting to know our Legacy members is a special experience for all of us at MDA, so Lenore’s inquiry triggered a follow-up call from MDA’s local Director of Special Gifts & Philanthropy. The call was followed by a personal visit, and Lenore was eventually presented with MDA’s Legacy of Help and Hope certificate.

Through phone calls and personal visits, MDA learned that Lenore was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. Like many of us, Lenore recalls watching the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon year after year on Labor Day weekend. More importantly, Lenore remembers that her family always made a gift to MDA by sending a check. For Lenore, her family’s example translated into a lifelong practice of giving to and helping others.

After Lenore’s husband passed away, she knew she needed to revise her will. While working out the details of a revised estate plan, Lenore developed a strong friendship with a person who currently struggles with myotonic muscular dystrophy, one of the nine forms of muscular dystrophy in MDA’s program.

Over time, Lenore watched the disease progress, and witnessed its devastating effects on her friend’s physical and emotional health. For Lenore, the effects were heartbreaking. But, true to form, this larger-than-life person opened her heart and decided to play an important role in fighting neuromuscular diseases. In honor of her friend with myotonic MD, Lenore made the ultimate gift by naming MDA a partial beneficiary of her estate.

Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” If Lenore and Winston Churchill were contemporaries – and Lenore is very quick to point out that they were not – Mr. Churchill easily could have been describing Lenore!

Lenore invites you to join her in providing hope for those children and adults with neuromuscular diseases. Make a bequest to MDA through your estate plan. Your generosity will enable MDA to continue its fight to eradicate neuromuscular diseases.

Dr. Robert Edgar is full of surprises. This native of Oklahoma is a mild–mannered gentleman whose outward appearance is that of a distinguished professor.

In fact, Bob Edgar is not only a distinguished professor, he is also the director of graduate studies for the Department of African Studies at Howard University in Washington D.C. (a historically black university). His work and research has focused on South Africa, where he has spent a great deal of time during the last four decades. A prolific author in his field, Bob has been the recipient of numerous professional awards and recognitions. The New York Times even branded Bob Edgar as the “Indiana Jones of South Africa” based on his exciting historical investigations of southern Africa’s political and religious history, and his quest to return the remains of a South African prophetess from her unmarked pauper’s grave back to the village that had been her home.

Bob’s love of Africa, its history, and its people is also deeply personal. While spending time in the country of Lesotho, he met a young boy named Leteanne who had been diagnosed with osteogenica imperfecta, or brittle bone disease. Bob later arranged to legally adopt Leteanne and brought him to live in the United States, where he is thriving.

Around the age of 6, Bob was diagnosed with Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease (CMT). Two of his three brothers also have been diagnosed with CMT, and therefore MDA has been part of his family since his childhood. Despite his CMT, Bob describes himself as having lived a full life, and after hearing just a few stories of his adventures in Africa, it is clear that is an understatement.

Bob knew that he wanted to leave a gift to MDA through his estate plan for a long time, but he was unsure of exactly what type of gift he wanted to make. He was also unsure how to make it. While attending an MDA–sponsored educational seminar called Estate Planning for Families with Disabilities, Bob learned what he needed to do to create the right kind of estate plan for himself and his son, and how MDA could be a part of that plan. With the help of a local attorney, Bob created a special needs trust that will provide for his son as part of his overall estate plan. Bob also generously named MDA as a residual beneficiary of his son’s special needs trust.

As a member of MDA’s Legacy of Help & Hope Society, Bob has created an estate plan that ensures financial support and care for his own special–needs son, and a gift that will enable MDA to continue funding cutting–edge research into treatments and cures for neuromuscular diseases.

Please join Bob as a member of MDA’s Legacy of Help & Hope Society by creating a bequest to MDA in your Will, or by giving another type of special gift such as a life insurance policy, or a charitable gift annuity.

Joseph Daniels emigrated from Persia (now known as Iran) in 1927, at the age of 14. His family moved from Detroit to Chicago, where he met and married his wife, Florence, who also had emigrated from Persia.

A hard-working accountant who loved to play violin, Joseph always put his family first. In the summer of 1954, he took the family on a vacation to Turlock, Calif., so his children could visit their grandparents – Joseph’s parents – who had retired there.

Sandra, the oldest of Joseph’s four daughters, remembers traveling cross country in the Super Chief, the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. In its day, the Super Chief set the standard for luxury rail travel in the U.S. Sandra remembers the luxury, but sadly, she also remembers tragedy associated with the trip. Her 17-month-old brother died in an accident during the vacation.

A second tragedy struck the family in October 1972, when Joseph received a diagnosis of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a disease that causes near-total paralysis and death, usually within five years of diagnosis.

Toward the end of her father’s life, Sandra fed and washed and cared for him nearly full time. One day, she recalls, she was unable to fight back tears while caring for him. But Joseph, always the strong one, said to her, “Do not despair; there is nothing you can do.” At once, Sandra realized her father was resigned to his fate. Joseph, who never complained about his condition, quietly passed away from complications of ALS in January 1974, just 15 months after diagnosis. More than three decades have passed since then, but Sandra has never forgotten the effect of the disease on her father, on her, or on the rest of her family. She vows, “The three words “amyotrophic lateral sclerosis” are the three ugliest words I know; I hate ALS!” It was devastating for her to watch her relatively young, vibrant, healthy, handsome father become trapped in a body that would no longer work.

In many ways, Sandra takes after her father. She too is vibrant, healthy and hard-working. Sandra works both as an administrative assistant for a software consulting firm and as a rental property manager, helping tenants resolve problems. In other words, Sandra helps people – helping others is what motivates her.

In memory of her father, Sandra wanted to make a gift restricted to ALS research. She wanted the gift to be from her estate after death, but she wasn’t sure how to make those plans.

Then a close friend reminded her about MDA. Sandra got in touch with the Association’s Special Gifts and Philanthropy Department, where she received the guidance she was seeking, and made arrangements for a gift in memory of her beloved father, Joseph Daniels.

Sandra’s gift most definitely will help other people. This is her legacy. What will your legacy be?

One of MDA’s mantras is: “Disability does not diminish ability or creativity.” Time and time again, we hear stories about people who’ve been handed the “disabled card,” only to see them toss it aside and achieve greatness. A good example is Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist whose world-renowned scientific career spans more than 40 years. His books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity. Hawking has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a condition that has progressed over the years and left him almost completely paralyzed. And yet, his celebrated work continues.

Rosemarie Walrath is a strong woman who almost single handedly raised two sons, both of whom had Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a progressively debilitating disease that shortens life span. Daniel (1960-1989) and Brian (1961-1987) accomplished great things during their lifetimes because Rosemarie refused to permit herself or her sons to believe that they could not do something because of their disease. Rosemarie was a source of hope for her two sons; they lived their lives with the knowledge that DMD did not diminish their abilities or their creativity, it just made their accomplishments more difficult to achieve.

Rosemarie taught her sons that they could accomplish anything they wanted, limited only by their imaginations. She has written and self-published a book about raising sons with DMD, called My Two Sons. In it, she chronicles the trials and triumphs of Daniel and Brian, while at the same time detailing the progression of DMD. A limited number of books are still available, for the asking and the costs for shipping and handling.

Rosemarie has made a bequest to MDA through her last will and testament, and is a member of our Legacy of Help & Hope Society. When meeting with Rosemarie, one gets a sense of calm from the way she lives her life. She gains pleasure from simple things, like the beauty of the flowers produced by her collection of cacti or the artwork created by her sons.

Rosemarie knows the power of Hope. It is what enabled her to persevere while raising her boys with love and dignity.

Judy Kaszas is one of the newest members of our Legacy of Help & Hope Society, but she’s no stranger to MDA. Judy’s desire to help MDA started decades ago when she was a child and met “Dickie,” the baby son of one of her mother’s friends. She couldn’t understand why the child couldn’t walk and support himself like others. Judy’s mother explained that “Dickie” was sick, and that money was needed to help find a cure.

That’s all Judy needed to hear. She started a lifetime of helping MDA. Judy collected “nickels and dimes” on the street corner to deliver to the local MDA Telethon’s “Wishing Well” every year. When she was old enough, Judy began volunteering at the Telethon and has been doing so for the last 25 years.

Judy relayed a story about the location of her local Telethon and how it has changed several times over the years. Since Judy doesn’t drive, she uses public transportation to get to the Telethon location so she can fulfill her volunteer commitment to MDA. Judy, who doesn’t mind the location changes, says “I’ll do whatever it takes to get to Telethon so I can do my work for Jerry’s Kids. Besides, since the Telethon is always over the Labor Day weekend, public transportation has reduced fares on holidays, and I consider that a bonus!”

Judy also has found other ways to help MDA. She recruits her friends to join her as event volunteers, and she volunteers at other MDA events such as MDA’s Muscle Team event in New York.

Recently, Judy found one more way to assist MDA. She realized that by making MDA a partial beneficiary of her estate, she can make the ultimate gift without distributing any current income or assets. Upon completion of her estate plan, Judy said: “I can’t imagine my money doing more good than it can in the hands of MDA. My estate isn’t big, but I’m doing my part to help find a cure!”

Like other Legacy Society members, Judy hesitates to accept gratitude. “I am not a hero,” she says. “Everybody should be doing something to help other people. This is the way the world should be.”

Now there’s a message that’s worth repeating! Please take Judy’s advice, and join her as a member of MDA’s Legacy of Help & Hope Society. Judy Kaszas is a hero in MDA’s eyes, and you can be one too! Please let us know if you make MDA a beneficiary of your estate, and we’ll make sure that your gift is used to help find treatments and cures for neuromuscular diseases.

If you would like to see what a leprechaun grin looks like, you only need to meet Pat Riley of Hobe Sound, Fla. For more than 14 years Pat has been an MDA office volunteer, summer camp sponsor, Telethon volunteer, generous donor and most recently a Legacy Society member. You might ask yourself how a Detroit native — an only child of devoted parents and a retired Bell Telephone employee — developed an interest in and commitment to MDA’s mission of finding cures and treatments for neuromuscular diseases.

The story began at Patricia Lee Riley’s birth. She was delivered with the use of forceps that damaged important motor nerves. Pat was left with a partially paralyzed right arm and weakened right leg. Because of these physical challenges, Pat grew up attending school, summer camp and other programs with children living with various physical disabilities.

Pat experienced 12 years of corrective orthopedic surgeries, but she chooses to recall good memories from those years. At age 5, she remembers being the youngest camper at Camp Grace Bentley on Lake Michigan, where she was given a doll and enjoyed swimming, arts and crafts and songs around the bonfire. Pat also remembers boat rides on the Detroit River, annually sponsored by the Rotary Club.

After high school graduation, Pat’s first job was with the Merrill Palmer Nursery School, where she provided clerical support to the staff psychologist. Then Pat enjoyed a 29-year career with Michigan Bell Telephone Company, working in their engineering, construction, fleet and installation departments.

In 1981, Pat retired to Hobe Sound, Fla. But she didn’t really retire — Pat started a career of volunteering. First she volunteered for the Hobe Sound Ambulance Company for 18 years. Then she volunteered for MDA for 14 years.

Pat’s association with MDA began when friends invited her to join them at the local broadcast of the Palm Beach County MDA Telethon in 1998. Later that year Pat attended the Children’s Holiday Party; one event led to another and Pat began volunteering at her local MDA office. After attending MDA summer camp the following summer in Bradenton, Fla., Pat was totally hooked on MDA’s mission.

Pat helped in so many ways. She sponsored the camp Tshirts for the kids and counselors. She also sponsored disposable cameras and camp auction items. Since that first telethon, Pat has become friends with many MDA family members, and her generosity extended into other areas in the Association.

Because Pat learned to successfully use her right hand, adjusted to a wedge in her right shoe, attended special schools and camps, learned to drive a car and perform all the daily tasks at work and home, she has a very personal empathy for others experiencing physical difficulties.

Because of her own challenges, Pat has always thought about ways she could help others with challenges of their own. She consulted her financial, legal and insurance advisors. They suggested ways she could support her favorite charities and realize tax advantages at the same time.

Pat’s devotion and commitment to MDA’s mission were again witnessed when she recently told us that MDA would receive a bequest from her estate. Providing help for future generations, ensuring the continuation of extraordinary research, and just plain helping others is part of the fabric of Pat’s life and legacy. MDA is very grateful to have this special “Irish guardian angel” as a member of our family.

A true sense of friendship and family exist between Pat and everyone she touches. She remembers every one and follows them on Facebook if they have a home page. While she doesn’t travel much anymore, Pat follows MDA all over the country via the Internet. In true Irish fashion, Pat Riley says:

“These things I warmly wish to you, Someone to love,
some work to do, A bit o’ sun, A bit o’ cheer,
And a guardian angel always near.”
— Irish saying

Rick Levy, entertainer, songwriter and president of a full-scale personal representation company, says, “I’ll never forget watching my first MDA Labor Day Telethon in 1966. I gave a $5 donation and haven’t missed a year since.” That makes Rick a loyal donor in anyone’s book. Rick’s philanthropic spirit recently came full circle when — after a lifetime of giving — he decided to make the ultimate gift by including MDA in his estate plans. By making a bequest and telling MDA about his plans, Rick has become one of the newest members of MDA’s Legacy of Help & Hope Society.

Born and raised in Allentown, Pa., Rick’s successful music career started in high school with the creation of his own garage band, “The Limits.” After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Rick found a way to combine his love of music with his keen interest in the welfare of children by producing music education videos and other optional teaching aides for middle school students. He later went on to become the lead guitarist and bandleader for Herman’s Hermits, starring Peter Noone. In his current role, he is the musical director for such outstanding ’60s artists as Jay & the Techniques, Tommy Roe and Freddy Cannon.

These days, Rick is the proud father of Jonah, 35, a successful special-effects artist, and proud grandfather of 5-year-old Brayden, with another grandchild due in December. When not touring, Rick enjoys spending lots of time at the beach near his home in St. Augustine, Fla., and cherishes the value of family and simple pleasures. “Ever since I was young, I’ve always thought about the value of medical research and the importance of good health care,” he says. As a phone bank volunteer for his local MDA Telethon, Rick learned at an early age about the difficulties experienced by people living with muscular dystrophy. He learned that there were kids and adults in his own community who looked to MDA for answers, hope and help.

This early awareness, coupled with his respect for medical research, prompted Rick to give according to his ability to do so. As his career flourished and his income increased, so did the amount of his donations. Rick also visited MDA summer camp, was a Telethon star board sponsor for many years, and regularly followed advances in neuromuscular disease research.

Loyal donors like Rick Levy almost always make bequests through their estate plans in order to continue supporting missions close to their hearts. Rick’s bequest to MDA is his way of ensuring better treatments and cures beyond his lifetime. Like any good father, he wants to see every child enjoy a healthy and happy life — just like the ones enjoyed by his son Jonah, daughter-in-law Michelle and grandson Brayden.

Join Rick as a member of our Legacy of Help & Hope Society. Please consider making a bequest to MDA.

Members of MDA’s Legacy of Help & Hope Society are people who will help MDA even after they’ve passed away. Legacy Society members have taken two very important steps:
1. They’ve made a deferred gift to MDA such as a bequest or a charitable gift annuity, and
2. THEY’VE TOLD US ABOUT THEIR GIFT INTENTIONS!

Rosealie “Roz” Lesser is a new member of our Legacy Society, but she isn’t new to MDA. In fact, Roz and her husband attended their very first MDA special event, a gala, in 1994. The event was called “The 12 Days of Christmas” and included an auction. Roz, who is an avid Florida State University (FSU) Seminole football fan, was the high bidder on an autographed football from the Seminoles’ 1993 national championship season.

While enjoying the excitement of the gala and buying the autographed football, Roz’s husband turned to her and said, “MDA is a great organization, and we need to help it.” Roz agreed. Since then, she’s never stopped helping MDA. As a matter of fact, one could say Roz is as passionate about her volunteer work for MDA as she is about her FSU Seminoles &nash; we’re talking “fanatic!” You see, Roz immediately volunteered to help with the same gala that she and her husband had just attended as donors. That wasn’t enough for Roz; she also volunteered to help her local MDA office. While in the office, Roz met and befriended several of Jerry’s Kids &nash; children and adults with neuromuscular diseases. During those years as an office volunteer, Roz realized she could do more to help MDA.

To Roz, “doing more” meant two things:
1. more volunteering, and
2. making a significant bequest via her estate plan.

“More volunteering” involved the Telethon. Roz’s decade of dedicated support during Telethon is unsurpassed. To this day, she provides the coffee, tea and juice service for those involved with her local Telethon. Roz has been asked on many occasions to go on-camera during the Telethon to represent her fellow volunteers and ask viewers for more financial support.

When Roz goes on TV and asks others to contribute to MDA, she does so from a position of great integrity. You see, Roz has created an estate plan. She has named MDA as one of the beneficiaries of her estate. Roz has made the “ultimate gift” to MDA, and when asked why, she has three responses.

“You get an incredible feeling when you give.” “I could not live in good conscience if I spent all my assets on myself instead of giving them to my beneficiaries.”

“If my bequest will enable just one child with muscular dystrophy to live a more comfortable life, then I will feel whole.”

What a pleasure for MDA to re-establish a relationship with Dorothy Quinn Bursey! Dorothy is no stranger to MDA. As a matter of fact, you could call Dorothy a “walking history book” of all things MDA related. She remembers wonderful details about MDA annual meetings in the 1950s. She recalls meeting Jerry Lewis and Paul Cohen (MDA’s co-founder and first president).

In the late 1950s, Dorothy and her husband, Reese “Buck” Bursey (now deceased), founded the Mid-Columbia (Washington state) Chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association of America, as MDA was known in those days. Dorothy and Buck recruited friends and neighbors to help raise funds to support research, programs and services for those with neuromuscular diseases.

In an October 1957 letter Dorothy wrote to President Dwight D. Eisenhower about MDA’s historical beginnings when five families with children with muscular dystrophy banded together to do something to try to find treatments and cures. The efforts of these five families eventually resulted in the creation of the Muscular Dystrophy Association of America (MDAA) in 1950. Dorothy spoke of “the fighting, independent spirit of America burning as brightly in 1957 as it ever did before.”

Dorothy received a response from Eisenhower’s office written by Walter Williams, undersecretary of commerce. Mr. Williams spoke admiringly about Dorothy and others who had taken up the fight against muscular dystrophy. He wrote that it was both heartwarming and truly inspirational that there were people “… who refused to accept the prevailing medical fatalism about the disease …”

In 1959, while volunteering for the Mid-Columbia Chapter, and with a operating budget of $497.30, Dorothy and her team raised over $12,000 by setting out coin canisters at businesses and doing house-to-house March Campaigns during the cold, snowy months of winter – quite a return on investment! Adjusted for inflation, this equals $87,500 in today’s dollars. Under the Burseys’ volunteer leadership, the Mid-Columbia Chapter of MDAA was one of the best chapters in the U.S.

Dorothy recalls conversations with people as she went on those house-to-house March Campaigns. Some told her she was crazy for doing what she did. She always responded with a smile and said, “I will walk miles and miles in the cold and snow to help those in wheelchairs who can’t walk at all.”

You see, Dorothy was inspired to support MDA because, by 1957, she had lost an uncle and brother to complications caused by Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and had a child with the disease. In 1967, Dorothy’s son, Thomas, also passed away from complications of DMD, at the age of 24.

Dorothy has accomplished much in her life besides helping MDA. In 1947, she was instrumental in getting special education classes established in the public school system in the state of Washington. In 1956, the state named her “Woman of the Year” for outstanding community service. She worked as a volunteer in the Nixon White House from 1970 to 1975, and in 1984, served as a Reagan delegate to the Republican National Convention. She remained active in Republican politics after moving to North Carolina in 1985, and was inducted into the North Carolina Republican Hall of Fame in 1999.

To this day, Dorothy still is doing her part to support MDA. Through materials provided by MDA, she learned about estate planning, created an estate plan, and recently informed MDA that she has remembered the Association in those plans by giving a large percentage of her estate to MDA upon her passing.

Today, 89 years into her wonderful life of helping others, Dorothy is still leading by example. Her lifetime of action and support for MDA has meant a lot to the Association’s fight against muscle-wasting diseases.

With people like Dorothy in our corner, we cannot fail! Please follow her lead – provide help and hope for those who need it. Make a gift to MDA through your estate plan. Thank you, Dorothy!