Dear Friends, The following passages from the New Testament have been my solace over the past few weeks: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest ...." St. Mathew 11:28 KJV "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also..." St. John 14: 1 KJV Thursday, March 15, 2007, was the darkest day for our family when we received news of the death of our beloved, special grandson who died in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a result of a grand mal seizure, it is thought. He was living in a state-run group home, and under the circumstances of his death there the coroner had to perform an autopsy. As of today, April 1, we have not been able to have a family gathering to put him to rest and to honour and respect this very special person who wasn't given much of a chance during his life. Our grandson was given the first name Clint, to carry on my family name. His father, our son, being given the name as a middle name. In naming Clint thus, the thought was that if he ever married and had children, perhaps he could pass on the name, sort of in perpetuity, down through his children It was not to be because marriage and having a family were not, and likely never would be, on the horizon for Clint. He was born with a rare chromosomal/genetic condition referred to as Di Georges Syndrome, which presented him with many developmental challenges, including a form of retardation which then "progressed" (as depicted) to schizophrenia the last two years of his life. It was a living hell for him and his family. With it all, he had a gentle sense of humour, and was the most loving, kind, forgiving human who never bore a grudge, but should have given the insurmountable challenges he faced each day. This character, this personality, is his heritage, then; this is what I hope will be passed down through my children, our grandchildren to our great-grandchildren and the generations that follow when questions are asked about who or what was this young man who died at the age of 26. If I may, if anyone wonders about which charity to make a donation to, may I respectfully suggest Easter Seals (U.S.A.) and one's local Mental Health Agency, both severely underfunded. Both of those agencies were helpful when Clint was first diagnosed as a baby, and later as he entered "the system" in adulthood. I hope I am forgiven for posting this personal loss, but as we spend so much time on our genealogy pursuits, and the lives of our forebears, we need to continue to be very much focused on our families in the present also. Today is the first day of the rest of my life to try to continue to do this. As a footnote: We try to take solace in that the Lord must have realised that Clint had suffered enough and enfolded him in his arms into eternal rest. Maisie