Donald Strong in the 80's
My dearest friend, Don Strong, whom I have known since he graduated from Columbia in the 80's has finally found release from the taxing illnesses that compromised the vital life he sought to lead. The battle did not stifle the tremendous amount of energy he had in his life. Being an indomitable spirit he forged ahead with the dreams of his life, with a great impact as a GW faculty member on friends, colleagues, students at GWU and beyond. To those of us who loved him, as both friend and brother, he made you stand in your glory if you couldn't see it yourself. Never an understated person, in mind or in volume, he would push you to reaches within that may not had been obvious or even comfortable to recognize before.
The bouts Don had with his body, and sometimes with us, were balanced by the loving support he generously shared with the world at large. For me, the sadness was the way he left us. Quietly without a word, in the course of a dark night, when in the past, he would normally had rallied us for assistance. Not hearing from him was in every way, not normal. The suddenness and deafening silence of it all had to be by choice. In my mind, he decided the moment had come to move to the next stage, whatever that may look like, saying goodbye without a word.
I will miss my brilliant friend, brother and loved one that sometimes gave too much and other times accepted too little. I will make my way forward with the knowledge and spirit of his emphatic ways, still resonating with me and egging me onward to be all I can be. I miss you already, Don Strong.
