My father-in-law, Victor A. Lahmann (1924-2004) finally lost his battle to
Alzheimer's.  He was diagnosed 11 years ago and went into a nursing home 4?
years ago.  Today, with pneumonia, he was breathing slowly, then slower,
then slower, then not a all.

He was 9 when his father died, had a job at 10, joined the Navy at 17 and
was stationed in the Philippines in '45 and '46 (just missing WWII).  When
he came back, he delivered newspapers and then film canisters.  He then sold
insurance, Jeeps, fire apparatus, and finally school busses.  He was the
national top salesman for Wayne school bus bodies.  Later, he started
selling for Thomas and was again the national top salesman.  He bought a
school bus company and ran a municipal school bus company and a city
transit, all simultaneously.  Still later he sold Blue Bird buses.  In
between he dabbled in real estate and stocks and learned to fly.

At 9, he was fatherless.  At 50, he was a millionaire.  And he worked up
until his late 60s when his brain failed him.  He was quite a man, the likes
of which we don't see much any more.