Saturday, December 14, 2019
I only met Ilona and her husband Chuck once at the Greek Festival in Columbia 5 or maybe 6 years ago. We shared a table with them. They were very pleasant people to be with. Ilona didn't say much and Chuck communicated by showing me a card that said he could only communicate by using a lap-top or computer. He communicated about his illness and I told him that I had a grandfather who had had the same illness and that I wondered if I might develope it later in life. A couple minutes later, he showed me his lap-top and there were some sentences that essentially said that it was not necessarily a heriditary issue and I shouldn't worry. I thought: What a special person to make the effort to give me that message. When the entertainment began, he made a dollar bill into the shape of an airplane and threw it toward the stage. He had some paperclips to help add weight to the bills so we threw several out there and had fun. We exchanged a few e-mails over the next maybe 2 years and I sent him a photo of my granddaughter and I at the art museum where their names are listed. I've been sending Christmas cards to them since then. I hadn't heard from Chuck in at least 2 years, but was unaware of his passing, as well as Ilona's until I just googled her name for an address. I'm glad to have met the special couple and wish I had taken the time to pay them a visit. My condolences to the family. - Dug Rizzo