What a day! I had an excellent morning and was very content and happy.
I was shocked to see an email about Joseph Wagstaff. I’m so sad to see that Dr. Wagstaff is dead. He was such a wondeful man and leader. He touched so many lives. I remember first meeting him in Chicago, 2001, prior to having an official diagnosis. His kindness and compassion were unmatched.
I will post in rememberance of Dr. Claudia Benton later. For our small Angelman Syndrome community, losses like these are hard to comprehend.
Here is the article http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1030486.html
CHARLOTTE – Two climbers found the body of a Charlotte man at the base of a 70-foot cliff in Crowders Mountain State Park Tuesday morning, authorities said.
Joseph Wagstaff, 52, apparently fell to his death, according to Gastonia police.
Gastonia police Sgt. Dean Conner said there was no evidence of foul play, and that Wagstaff was wearing street clothes and had no climbing gear.
Park Superintendent Larry Hyde said Wagstaff was found about 11 a.m. on the eastern face of the mountain at the Linwood Road park entrance. Hyde said he apparently died sometime after the park opened at 8 a.m. because his car, which was found in the Linwood access lot, wasn’t there last night when Hyde closed the park. Hyde said he hadn’t talked to anyone who had seen Wagstaff on the trail.
Wagstaff was a licensed pediatrician. Family members could not be reached Tuesday night, but Dr. Frank Grass, a co-worker, said Wagstaff was an internationally known genetics expert who focused on Angelman syndrome, a genetic developmental disorder.
“He was one of the top researchers in the field,” Grass said. “He was great to work with. He was very knowledgeable. … The families that he worked for were devoted to him, and he was devoted to them.”
Hyde said this is the first fatality in the past two years he’s been at the park. Six people died on the cliffs between 1986 and 1997.
3 Comments
April 9, 2008 at 3:28 pm
I forgot the how truly awful the details of Dr. Benton’s death are. I can’t even cut and paste them here. If you don’t know the tragic story of her death at the hands of the Railroad Killer, here is a link.
http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/claudia-benton/
April 9, 2008 at 5:08 pm
TBH, I’ve given dozens of excuses to myself as to why I’m not doing anything in support of the ASF walk-a-thon. I know its the million dollar year and the tenth year and everything else. I didnt even make a FirstGiving page. : (
I commit now to stepping up and raising funds for the ASF in honor of Dr. Wagstaff.
I have heard from Sheila at the National Office, and (once the shock of today wears off) they will be working on a FirstGiving memorial page.
Please check back in a few days for a link to my FirstGiving page.
May 4, 2008 at 1:03 am
Emilie:
While trying to find out information about Claudia Benton and her work, I came across your blog. Thank you for the link on Dr. Benton. The information was written by me originally on Wikipedia in ‘05. I realized only later what a…disservice I had done to Claudia’s memory and her husband and two daughters. I deleted the Wiki entry but by then it was too late and had been posted on Wiki affiliated sites. A ”good” site offering the circumstances surrounding Dr. Benton’s death can be found at http://www.txexecutions.org/reports/368.asp
I followed the hunt for Claudia’s killer through to his trial, his death sentence and execution. Oddly, I grieved deeply for a woman and a family I had never met, never knew about until Claudia’s death. From the little I know about Dr. Benton herself, she was a very special person who was passionately devoted to work on Angelman Syndrome and had a wonderful rapport with the children she worked with and her own daughters. I cannot even imagine what her children went through, learning their mother not only had died, but murdered – in their own home – only a week before the holidays. No more hugs or trips to the mall because of an evil ”human.” The second saddest thing? I can tell you everything about the killer’s life…and very little about Claudia or the other victims. I don’t know about her specific work with Angelman Syndrome, her contributions to the world, her personality, all that made Claudia who she was. Rarely has anything been written about her life except to note her murder, as if this defined her very being! John Walsh, in one of his books, did mention Dr. Benton was multilingual – speaking Spanish, German and English. Did you know that? How many people know that!? Do you know if anyone has taken up Claudia Benton’s work or how her children are now? (I know, how do you THINK they’re doing?) I think you could still write something in remberance of Dr. Benton, something that does not focus on the situation she became unfortunately ”well-known” for. Especially if you knew Dr. Benton, your rememberance could do her memory and that of her work, a great honour. A statement showing Dr. Claudia Benton was more than a murder victim. Thank You. Serieve.