Donate for Donny!

Updated January 15th with new Funeral/Visitation location, underlined. 
Updated January 13th 2020
With a heavy heart I share that Donny died yesterday evening, Sunday, at 8:09 PM. He’d been in a new facility (the nicest one) for about a week due to hydration issues and trouble breathing. He was surrounded by his family and friends the whole week & as he passed, including his sister Jessica and brothers Bobby and David.

Donny's cat, Schrödinger, has found a loving home with his brother David & his wife Jeana (along with their many other pets & adorable newborn baby).  Standoffish at first to anyone but Donny, Schrödinger has really warmed up lately to the whole family. 

Many people believe that because of Erwin Schrödinger’s 1935 thought experiment(involving a cat, a box, and a bottle of poison), we're all part of an entangled ‘Quantum Multi-Verse’ existence where no experiences death; rather, consciousness continues to live on in one of many parallel universes.  


Regardless of what you believe, or what comes next, our love is with Jerry as he moves on to the good place.

<3

Arrangements are as follows:

Visitation Friday the 17th from 3 pm - 8 pm

Visitation Saturday the 18th from 11 am - 2 pm, Funeral to follow


Both Funeral & Visitation will be held at:

Anderson and Garrett Funeral Home
3501 Old Clarksville Pike
Joelton, TN 37080

 
You can donate in Donny's name to the ALS Tennessee Chapter  who helped provide Donny with ways of communicating towards the end of his sickness.

Donations can also be made directly to this GoFundMe fundraiser, after which they will go to Donny's sister Jessica,  who was relentlessness there for him (whether he liked it or not) the last few years.  Illness & death is expensive for everyone; I'm sure anything you could give would really help contribute to funeral arrangements, lost wages, etc, and would be very much appreciated. 


Thank you to everyone who contributed to this fundraiser and made these last few years a little less stressful for Jerry & his family.  

Original Post from December 2018
Our dear friend Jerry was diagnosed with ALS earlier this year. His real name is Donny, but at work we call him Jerry. Yes, that’s a Parks & Recreation episode, and yes, the same thing happened in real life. We only realized his real name was Donny after four years of knowing him, and of course by then how could we start calling him a completely different name?? Typical Jerry/Donny. 

Donny is a quiet genius. No really, like...a real genius. I’d be willing to bet his IQ proves it, but he hasn’t shared it with us (because he’s also extremely humble). And genuinely, touchingly kind. It seems like every pay-day we show up to work and find donuts sitting out for everyone. It’s always from Donny, who’s just quietly working away at his desk, hiding his heart of gold.

Donny keeps loyal, lifelong friends. He loves his nephews & nieces. He’s fascinated by cosmology, is an avid Sci Fi reader, and has excellent taste in television. #TheGoodPlace

ALS (or Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a rare neurological disease that progressively causes the muscles producing voluntary movements (like chewing, walking, and talking) to shut-down.  There is no cure for ALS.  Most people with ALS die from respiratory failure, usually within 3 to 5 years from when the symptoms first appear. 

Please donate whatever you can to help Donny with his medical and living expenses.  Donny is currently living in a third floor walk-up without an elevator—he is unable to leave his apartment by himself. This money would help him move into a first floor apartment where he can come and go by himself, and where his friends are close-by to help him.   It would also help Donny be able to afford the doctors visits, treatments, medical equipment, and support that unfortunately are still very expensive, even with insurance. Funding would also go towards helping Jerry live a comfortable life (for example, he needs to have food delivered to him for every meal, because he’s unable to cook or get to the grocery store).  After the 2.9% (+30 cents) taken on every transaction, 100% of the money raised will go directly to Jerry’s bank account. 

Every little bit truly helps, and emotional support is just as important. Everyone who know’s Donny has great stories about him; we would love to hear those stories along with donations as they are submitted.  

Thank you, and Happy Holidays!