From Liz Bauer

Dear Ann and Rud,

Tricia and Calvin called yesterday to tell me of your sad loss. I am stunned by the news and so very, very sorry. JT inspired and energized the good efforts you expend on behalf of so many. While I never had the privilege of meeting him in person, I knew him from your accounts and through stories told by our friends in common, like Tricia and Calvin. Calvin said JT was just coming into his own – developing his “person” becoming all he could be. It is too said that his blooming individual has been interrupted in the prime of his life. Still JT’s gifts remain. He encouraged our hearts, dared us to hope for more, triggered the courage that lies inside us to take risks, seize possibilities, and break through attitudinal and physical barriers.

JT’s life was a gift – to you – and to so many who learned from you to appreciate their own “gifts.” We are grateful for his being. We are saddened by his laving. We wish you peach as you go forward.

With deepest sympathy,
Liz Bauer