Dying Rutherford man throws a party to say goodbye

[no_hypocrisy]

Alan “Big Al” Note couldn’t have asked for a better last day on Earth.

'Big Al' Note died hours after this photo was taken at a party he planned to celebrate his life. With him were his niece Jackie and her husband, Woody. There he was at the Rutherford Elks Lodge on a Sunday afternoon, surrounded by 130 people dear to him.

His two brothers and sister-in-law. Nieces and nephews. Old friends. Those in Rutherford who shared his zeal for civic involvement. His Ramsey High School teaching colleagues and former students.

All had been invited by Note himself, and all heard him announce what most already knew: that Note, a non-smoker, was dying of lung cancer.

-more-

He was my history teacher in high school. He's one reason why I'm here on DU.

http://www.northjersey.com/topstories/ramsey/031312_Dying_Rutherford_man_throws_a_party_to_say_goodbye_.html

[deutsey]

1. K&R

[Bonobo]

2. Very sweet way to go out.

Few are that lucky.

[MrMickeysMom]

3. A life well lived....

What a wonderfully celebrated life, too, though I'm sorry for your loss.

[malaise]

4. I like this story

A real send off indeed

[southernyankeebelle]

5. He gave his friends a good time to remember. He made it easy to help him pass on. Very thoughtful.

My brother died of lung cancer and never smoked either. He was only 39 yrs old. To this day I miss him so much.

[Gman]

6. I had a friend who did the same thing

There were over 400 people at his.

[RevStPatrick]

7. That's my plan!

He beat me to it by 30 or 40 years, but that's totally what I plan to do.
Have a big party, give away all my stuff, and then take the "Black Capsule" and fade into oblivion!
I'm actually, kinda looking forward to it...

[hobbit709]

8. One of my best friends of mine died of bone cancer about 4 years ago.

We had the same kind of party. He got sing some of his favorite songs from plays he had been in with some of the other cast members. we had agood party, He even got a proclamation from the mayor saying that it was Frank Delvy Day.

He died about 2 weeks later.

[FailureToCommunicate]

9. "Give me the roses while I live" indeed

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[Joe the Revelator]

10. Great story, but this is better suited for the lounge...

Locking, but please repost this in that forum.

Take Care,

Joe

[Ruby the Liberal]

11. How heartwarming! Thank you for sharing this

and my condolences on your loss. Sounds like he was a fabulous guy and mentor.

[Initech]

12. Hey I'd do the same.

Although if I had a similar party I'd picture it being more like something out of the recent flick "Project X".

[MineralMan]

13. Kick. This was just unlocked, and

I wanted to to pop back up to the top of the thread list, so more people could enjoy this heartwarming story.

[joeybee12]

14. Good for him...a nice way to go...knr

[William769]

15. Thanks for sharing.

A great loss.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

16. A wonderful ending to a wonderful life.

Or so it sounded like in the article. It's not often you read of the death of a good person with a smile on your face, yet that's what I just did. What a way to go.

Thank you for sharing this amazing story.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

17. He was obviously a great guy.