My husband, Marty (Martin) Lefstein, Carleton class of 1974, passed away on June 11th of this year after living with Parkinson’s Disease for over 28 years. I met him on an Associated Colleges of the Midwest semester abroad program to Costa Rica in the spring of 1973. I was a Grinnell student. We were active in various struggles to try to make the world a better place, including starting the entirely volunteer run Libreria del Pueblo/People’s Bookstore in New Orleans which was involved in supporting the struggles in El Salvador and Nicaragua, as well as local struggles. We moved to Maryland in 1988 and he was involved in our local community association, supporting the local library, and the Green Party among other things. We have two wonderful children, both married to great partners, and three amazing grandchildren. In 1995 Marty was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, which he faced with courage, strength, and grace. We became very much a part of the Parkinson’s community here, involved in many exercise classes, singing, and support groups. Fortunately our children both live close by and gave us their constant support. About two and a half months ago Marty opted to go into home hospice (the hospice folks were wonderful), and I feel like he was ready when he passed away . Parkinson’s is a horrible disease and Marty faced it with grace and courage. -Gita Lefstein
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