Tribute to Gary A. Bain
May 5, 2008
John W. Walsh, president of the COPD Foundation, gave the following tribute to Gary A. Bain:
“The COPD Foundation and the Alpha-1 Foundation wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the family of Gary Bain. Gary was a pioneer in patient advocacy for individuals with COPD and impacted thousands of lives through his dedication and commitment as the founder of EFFORTS and all the related activities his psychosocial support, dissemination of information, and day-to-day inter-connectivity. Gary shall always remain an inspiration and example of the impact that an individual can make in helping others.”
Mr. Bain’s obituary appeared in the Kansas City Star on 5/2/2008
After a long battle with COPD, Gary Bain, 68, peacefully “left this earth” on April 30th to rejoin his beloved wife, Harriet. After being diagnosed, our dad decided he would proactively battle this disease by dedicating his life to helping others learn to live with it and started EFFORTS (Emphysema Foundation For Our Right to Survive), an online support group. The website contains a wealth of information for patients, doctors, government officials, and caregivers and currently has over 2300 members worldwide. Gary proudly served in the U.S. Marine corps from 1957 to 1963 and fought in the Korean War. Gary lost his parents, Alvie and Maxine, when he was just 14. His wife of 43 years, Harriet Ann, also preceded him in death. He is survived by his sister Phyllis Johnson of Indianapolis and her husband, Dave, and their children. He is also survived by his children, Cathy Lovins and husband Steve, Debbie Snodell and husband Robert, Mike Bain and wife Tina, and Michelle Sullivan; his grandchildren, Angie, Derek, Krista, Audrey, Tiffany, Sara, Stacy, Jeremy, Sean, and great- grandchild Hope, all of Missouri. We all have a lot to learn from Gary with his sense of humor, kindhearted spirit and positive outlook on life, even though he had so many life challenges. We cannot express the extent of how he will be missed. Even to his last day he shared smiles with everyone. If you would like to help in continuing Gary’s legacy, contributions can be made to EFFORTS at http://www.emphysema.net. Visitation will be from 2pm to 3pm Saturday May 3, 2008 at Newcomer’s White Chapel Funeral Home 6600 N. Antioch, Gladstone. Funeral Services will follow at 3pm at the chapel. (Arr. Newcomer’s White Chapel Funeral Home 816-452-8419)