Many thanks to Jacqueline Dupree and her husband Bill Walsh for sending the attached obituary of my late brother. Danny passed away in 1974 of leukemia.
My son is now a few years older then Danny was when he was diagnosed. I can't imagine the pain my parents must have felt hearing this, seeing him suffer through painful bone-marrow treatments, and trying to keep a happy face for me and my younger brother during Danny's final few months. A few months after his passing Shepherd Park Elementary, where my older brother I both went, held a walk-a-thon to raise money for cancer research.
My parents created a silver-lining. As mentioned in the article, they founded Candlelighters, a support group for families that have children with cancer. For this they were selected by Washingtonian magazine as "Washingtonians of the Year", in 1981 (http://www.washingtonian.com/
A search today on 'candlelighters' brings up numerous local non-profits dedicated to children with cancer and their families. The organisations are located throughout the US, as well as Canada, the UK and quite likely many other places.
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