Inspired to give back

EDITOR,
I think we were all astounded by John Crosson, confined to a wheelchair and with only partial use of one arm. A person has to feel inspired, and that must be why the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors declared May 3 through 9, 2009, to be John Crosson week.
Two-hundred-seventy people came to the memorial service upstairs at In Vino Veritas on May 2 for this very special neighbor, who died March 28 at the Veteran’s Memorial Hospital in Palo Alto.
John became a quadriplegic at the age of 21 after a Navy-base car accident. Not long after that, he got a bachelor’s and then a master’s degree. He got married, and he and his wife, Deloris, moved to Felton. He served on the County Commission for Disabilities. He was chair of the Santa Cruz County Democratic Party, and he was the California Democratic Party regional director.
At the memorial, there was a video loop showing pictures of his submarine, John as a young man, at various Democratic conventions, shaking hands with President Clinton, at San Jose Sharks games and at home with Deloris.
Annette Marcum of Valley Churches United Missions officiated the memorial. A prayer service was offered by Father Bob Murrin of Saint Michael’s Catholic Church. We watched as the color guard presented Deloris with a United States flag and cried while we listened to taps. Our District 5 county supervisor, Mark Stone, presented the board’s plaque declaring John Crosson Week. We ate and clapped as about 30 of John’s family, colleagues and friends told anecdotes.
Then we returned to our lives, but I think each of us walked away feeling inspired to give back something of ourselves to our community, as John did.
Denise Becker, Felton