Gary Halliwell passed from Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (CJD) on June 28, 2023. About 70% of patients die within a year of CJD diagnosis, but Gary passed in 6 short weeks. Mary, his wife, saw Gary decline daily from this rare, fatal neurodegenerative disease. During the first two weeks he began to present symptoms, he steadily lost cognitive ability and then declined physically. He went from knowing how to do e-bill payments on a Tuesday to not knowing how to turn on the TV by Thursday that same week, from playing golf on Sunday to unable to walk steadily by Friday. The rapid succession of symptoms was horrifying. As Mary said, no one should have to suffer from this heart-wrenching disease.

Since CJD is a rare disease, funding is meager. More needs to be done to build awareness, raise money for research and help families reeling from the affects of this disease on their family members. This Gary Golf Gathering— the first of hopefully many annual events— is designed to build awareness of CJD and raise money for research.

Whether you're a golfer or not, please consider donating to the CJD Foundation. No one should have to go through what Gary did and no family should have to watch their loved one suffer as Gary did. There's hope, and your donation can help.