Today Marriott announced that Bill Marriott’s son, Stephen, passed away at the age of 54. Mr. Marriott paid tribute to his son in his Marriott On The Move Blog. It’s a very touching tribute.
“No parent should have to see their child die, and those who do are members of a club that no one wants to belong to. Donna and I lost our dear son, Stephen, this week at the age of 54. He had been diagnosed in his teens with a rare mitochondrial disease that slowly cost him his eyesight, his hearing, his strength, and finally, his life. Yet during all those decades since his diagnosis, we remained hopeful that the doctors would find a cure. Stephen is one of my great heroes, because he never allowed his disease to get in the way of his ambition or his passions. He went to Brigham Young University, then got his master’s degree in business administration at Arizona State University in Phoenix. He married Julie, the girl of his dreams, and they had three gorgeous children and five beautiful grandchildren.”
– See more at: http://www.blogs.marriott.com/marriott-on-the-move/2013/06/my-hero-stephen.html#sthash.IGDmUrYg.dpuf
Your comment that no parent should have to see their child die is so poignant to me. I lost my youngest son a month before he turned 35 to complications of a mitochondrial disease called MERRF. He started having seizures during his mission, cauring him to have to come home six months early. It took about five years to get a diagnosis beyond the epilepsy, but thanks to the wonderful neurology department at the University of Utah we finally knew the tragic truth of what he was facing. His muscles lost strenth as he progressed from walking with difficulty, to a walker, to a wheelchair. It was tragic to watch him waste away. The dream of his life was to be sealed to a wife in the temple and have children, a dream which never was fulfilled in this life. My heart goes out to the family, and I know you feel as I do about my son that, as much as we miss out loved ones, they are now free of the limitations of their disease and wait for us on the other side.