A Tribute to Dad

Today is my Dad's birthday. He would have been 81 years old today, but he died in 1983 at the young age of 56. He had Hemophilia, a bleeders disease, and died during the AIDS crisis due to tainted blood products (his medication). He was the oldest living Hemophiliac in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.



He was a kind, gentle spirit, and his faith kept him going. Even though he suffered with constant pain, I remember him whistling, humming and singing.

Here he is in his studio. He was a commercial artist.

In 1969 my two brothers and my sister and I had a bake sale on Main Street of our small town to help my Dad with medical bills.

The bake sale

His debt was mounting and he owed 220 pints of blood or $5,500. He was going to the hospital at least twice a week for clotting factor.

On July 14, 1973 our town rallied round and held a day in his honor. Our church had a chicken barbeque, a food and bake sale, and a garage sale, also donations ~ monetary or blood donors. The generosity and support was overwhelming! The donations of food, money and saleable goods far exceeded expectations. It was a miracle, and enough money was raised to help defray his medical expenses, and 45 people signed up to be blood donors. "The Lord works in marvelous ways" the newspaper quoted, and my Dad said, "We just can't believe it."

Our daughter, Amy, works for the National Hemophilia Foundation in NYC. She feels blessed to have gotten the job working in the Education Department. She said she works hard for her grandfather every day. She set up a wonderful website for him and you can see it here http://www.active.com/donate/hemophiliaWalkNC/elmerminnich.

In October, we are having a walk-a-thon fund raiser in North Carolina hosted by the National Hemophilia Foundation.

Our family is very excited to be able to do this together.

So, if you happen to be in NC on October 18, 2008 come join our team!

This will be a walk to remember.

Happy Birthday, Dad!