November 13, 2010

Today we celebrate life!  Come join the party at Lake Washington Rowing Club in Seattle from 3-6 pm.......910 N. Northlake Way.

See you there!

November 6, 2010

We completed the marathon! Thank you all for your love and support.  Keep giving and pass this website on to everyone you know!  We have almost hit our target!  Thank you again!

 

October 31, 2010

As Dad/Pops/Atets/Poppy said: "Press

the Attack!"  Flying on the wings of

Jon Rider's incredible legacy, we run

the marathon today with deep love for

our father and gratitude for our family

and friends that have supported us

through this AMAZING AND

INSIGHTFUL journey.  We

are ready to go and look forward to

seeing Mom, Jordan, Marek Marchoff,

the Conatsers, the McKays, Jackie,

Kelly E, Chris Joy,

Elizabeth/Douglas/Claire Battaglia,

Sara Z, the Baskin Twins and

ALL of our supporters at the finish line.

We couldn't have done this without all

of you.  Here we GOOOOOOOOOOOO!

October 25, 2010

6 days to go!  Megan and her friend, Marek, are here and more Riders are arriving Wednesday!  Watch out MCM, here we come!

October 20, 2010

A passage our father shared with us before he left:

Death needs courage. Courage is the power to confront a world that is not always fair. Courage is loving life, even in the face of death. It is sharing our strength with others even when we feel weak. It is embracing our family and friends even when we fear to lose them. it is opening ourselves to love, even for the last time. Courage is self-esteem. It prefers quiet determination; it prefers doing to waiting. It affirms that exits, like entrances, have their own dignity.

Sherwin Wine

 

October 14, 2010

I am just feeling so much love and gratitude toward everyone who has donated and supported all of us through my dad's illness and death.  What is so amazing is that he still lives on through all of us, whether or not you share his DNA (like us lucky Rider kids do!).  I've heard people describe him as a "warrior."  This might be true, but he was a warrior for peace and tolerance.  We all miss him so much, but I know that he would be proud of all of our family and friends who continue to help fight this battle against a disease that's killing so many people, but we know so little about it.  Let's change that together.  Thank you and we love all of you who have supported this cause.  Please spread the word.  And if you can't come to the marathon on October 31st to cheer us on, you can look on the MCM page for directions about how to track our progress as we run.  It's kind of fun.  Again much love to you all.

October 2, 2010

Jon Kirk Rider's Celebration of Life

In Jon's style, he wanted us to have a party. Let's get together to celebrate his life and enjoy ours! Meet with friends and family, tell stories, dance, share grief and joy.

Pizza and beer will be served. Bring your favorite wine.

Saturday November 13, 2010 Lake Washington Rowing Club 1500-1800

910 North Northlake Way Seattle, Washington 98103

With love, The Rider Family

Email inquiries to Megan: mrider@artic.edu 

August 30, 2010:

As we work through our grief over the loss of dad, it helps to know that there are still people, friends, families, even acquaintances who are willing to donate to our cause.  We got three more checks in the mail and several from our Sunset Celebration for Jon that we held at his house in Kennewick.  Thanks to:

Col. and Mrs. Conrad Delateur

Charlene Gramling

Shirlie Rainwater

Russell and Jean Amick

Colin Nisbet

I want to especially thank Bob Norman and Dean Boender for coming all the way out to Kennewick for the celebration and to present to us checks from dad’s Beta Brothers.  I can’t tell you how much it means to us that you are honoring dad in this way.

Thanks also to Paul Harvey who announced at the Sunset Celebration that a new rowing shell is being made for the Ancient Mariners (dad's old team) and will be named the "Jon K. Rider."  What an honor.  We are humbled.

Let’s continue to spread the word about Pulmonary Fibrosis!  Write to your Congressperson and ask them to support HR 1079 and write to your US Senators and ask them to support Senate Bill 3703.  Both of these will increase funding for research into a cure for PF.  We will be up on Capitol Hill lobbying for these two pieces of legislation that are so important to those of us who have lost someone to PF and especially to those still living with the disease.  Over 40,000 people die from PF every year, so let’s press the attack!

With much gratitude,

The Rider Kids

August 23, 2010:

We got two donations in the mail yesterday!  Thank you to:

Karen Delmonaco and family (our New Jersey sisters!)

Howard and Diane Mahugh

Although we have surpassed our goal, we would love to double it.  As much as we love flowers to remember our dad, it's important that we continue to raise funds to help those still suffering from pulmonary fibrosis.  Since dad's death, our determination to run this marathon and raise as much money as possible has increased exponentially.  This means so much to all those out there that have the disease.  We need more funds to research PF and find a cure.  40,000 people a year die from PF.  That is one person every 13 minutes.  Thank you for helping our cause.

We send our love out to you,

The Rider Kids

August 18, 2010:

Please write to both your congressperson and your senators and ask them to support HR 1079 and Senate Bill 3703, respectively, which support the Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act.  In addition, ask them to request the same of five of their colleagues.  We will be up there on Capitol Hill on September 14th and 15th in person lobbying for support.  40,000 people die of PF every year; that is one person every 13 minutes.  Let's honor Jon Rider by "pressing the attack" and moving forward with the fight for a cure.  Thank you from the heart of our hearts.

August 15, 2010:

In celebration of Jon’s life, his family will have two separate gatherings:

Jon’s Sunset Celebration
Saturday, August 28, 2010
3:00 pm – Sunset
7710 W 21st Ave (park in lot behind house)
Kennewick, WA
Please bring hors d'oeuvres and your favorite beverage

Jon’s Celebration of Life
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Venue and Time TBA
Seattle, WA

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Coalition for Pulmonary
Fibrosis at firstgiving.com/jonkrider. Updates for venue and time:
caringbridge.org/visit/jonkrider.

Thank you for being part of our father’s life.

With Love,
The Rider Family
Kate, Amy, Megan, Kirk

PS. We are still hard at work training for the marathon!  Come cheer us on in person or in spirit on October 31st in Arlington, VA!

August 10, 2010:

Shortly after we posted our thanks yesterday, Megan and I went to the hospital to get dad home after an overnight stay.  We made it home and at around 12:30, our father, brother, best friend, uncle, and grandpa died in his own bed with a smile on his face.  He always said, "It ain't over 'till its over." Well, for him, it was over and it was over on his own terms.  

It's hard to understand when someone so vibrant is taken from us.  The following is a quote that dad showed me a couple of weeks ago:

"Why? Why now? To what end? The raw feeling of these unanswered questions is so strong because they are the sign that we care about life, and without our ability to care, sometimes to the point of great pain, we could perhaps continue to walk and speak and chew but not really live."

 ~Greg Epstein, Good Without God, 194-195

Dad was a secular humanist and he believed that we humans need to help each other become our best in the here and now.  He believed in our connectedness and we as his children know that he wants us to press on, and that we shall do.

Thank you doesn't quite cover our feelings for everyone who has supported us and those who continue to support this cause.   We send our love and gratitude to you all.

The Rider Kids

 

August 9, 2010:

Thanks to all of you who donated yesterday and today. We are well on our way to making our goal and perhaps surpassing it!  These donations just put us closer to finding a cure for PF.  Remember that September 11-18 is Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Week.  Write to your member of Congress as soon as you can and ask him or her to support HR 1079 (The Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act) so we can ensure more funding in the effort to find a cure for PF.  Also, for updates on Jon's health and his story, please check out http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jonkrider.