Tribute

Jun 23, 2008 by Doug Ulman

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I want to offer a tribute to a special survivor. He took the “challenge” so to speak as he tackled every day with vigor and a relentless desire to help others.

The last few weeks have been so tough for so many of us. We have lost a board member, watched numerous friends of the LAF deal with new diagnoses, and now I am so sad to report the passing of our former colleague and good friend, Allan Goldberg.

While I don’t know many details about his death I do know that Allan defined the word survivor. He battled this disease for more than 20 years. He spent his life giving back and helping others. He lived strong each and every day.

I will never forget when I went to visit Allan in Boston while he was finishing his graduate program at the Kennedy School at Harvard. We went to have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory on Huntington Street in downtown Boston. We sat there for hours and talked about how we could help more people with cancer. He was so passionate, dedicated, and focused. I so desperately wanted to find a role for him at LAF. He epitomized so much of what we stand for, believe in, and fight for every day.

Allan contributed so much to the cancer survivor community and he was such a stalwart supporter of the LIVESTRONG Summit, a project he managed while he was with us in Austin. He would be so amazed to know of our plans for this summer’s Summit. He will certainly be there in spirit.

Several years ago, when I was commuting to Austin and living in an apartment downtown, Mitch, Allan and I used to go to Whole Foods for dinner quite often. I just went to Whole Foods this afternoon and thought about our visits, conversations and our time together.

I will miss Allan and I know that so many of our team knew him well and spoke to him often. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to our entire LAF family who knew him well.

Suzanne, Mandy, and others are thinking about how we might honor Allan together here in Austin. More details to come.

Please keep Allan and his family in your thoughts and prayers this week.

Find below a note from Allan’s family.

Doug

Dear Friends -

As Allan says, “In the big game, you can lose with a full house and win with a pair of threes… you just never know.”

We are extremely saddened to share that our loved one, Allan Goldberg, passed away this morning. As many of you know, over the past few years Allan had been fighting cancer for the second time in his life. In recent months, it had spread but Allan continued to fight bravely while focusing on all of the positive things he was doing with his life. He spent the last week with his family on vacation at the beach in North Carolina. He returned home to D.C. on Friday and passed away this morning. His family was with him.

We know that Allan went on his own terms — focusing on living life, enjoying family & friends, and not allowing cancer to get in his way. We will miss him deeply. Allan was looking forward to moving back to Washington, D.C. to be closer to his family and friends. He spent the last two years in Colorado as a leader of First Descents, a non-profit organization focusing on survivorship of young adult cancer patients. Allan’s whole life has been dedicated to building upon his experiences with cancer to enrich the lives of everyone else who has been touched by the disease. He has inspired countless people through his optimism and courage. He was one of our heroes.

The memorial service will be held at Danzansky-Goldberg Memorial Chapel at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 25th, located at 1170 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, 20852. Information will be forthcoming in regards to how you may honor Allan’s life with a donation in lieu of flowers.

Please forward this message to anyone you feel would want this information.

And to close with another Allan saying, “Life is crazy; make sure you bring a jacket.”

Love,

Allan’s Family

Link to Allan’s obituary