one of the good guys

Kimball Matkins was the first person we ever talked to at York College. And his is the indelible impression which has caused many high school students to make the decision to attend a small Christian school in a small interstate town in Nebraska.... including our oldest daughter Caitlin. She played basketball for York her freshman season before transferring to Harding...

about a year and a half before we met him, Kimball learned that he had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), more commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, an ailment which kills 90% of its victims in the first 24 months...

He was training his replacement as Caitlin went through the enrollment process... and by that time, this former college athlete was wheel chair bound.

I cannot claim that I knew him well.... and I doubt he would remember me (though I am told he rarely forgot anyone's name once he met them).... but this gentle ambassador for a little school in Nebraska had huge impact on an incredibly large number of people.

If ours is to touch as many people as we can with Jesus' love, well, Kimball is a great man to model.

yesterday, Kimball went home...

to say that he will leave a hole is a vast understatement. People who knew him well will do a much better job of eulogizing him... I met him twice for a total of 35 minutes.

...and I will never forget him...

I think he had that affect on people.

tm