A Grandson Remembers, Part Two

But the YMCA was not the only special group there that December afternoon!  There was also a group of grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Two of the daughters of Julia Cooper Warren were present:  Jamee Warren Shelby and Dr Lisa Cooper Warren.  Two of the Stacy children, Dr Mark Stacy and Sara Stacy Dyer and their families were also present!

It was a particularly poignant experience for Dr Stacy, now the Vice Dean for Clinical Research at Duke University as well as the Duke Movement Disorders Center.   Stacy is well-known nationally for his research and publications on  Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders!

But that day he was there as a proud, caring grandson who remembered and reflected.  "As a little boy I remember being in a hospital baby bed and Mom brought me a coloring book.  It was a comfort at a time that I really did not understand what was happening. I had not thought of that moment in 50 years, but it came back when we were walking through the lonely halls of the Pediatric Unit.  I thought the little room with the blackboard is a nice corner of familiarity and safety for kids stuck in the hospital.  The art supplies give those children a little control and comfort in difficult, often confusing and lonely moments!"

Stacy talked to the children about his grandmother adding that now they could claim her too!  He added:  "Mama Cooper was a gentle and quiet woman, who never missed anything.  My favorite moment occurred when I forgot my manners, and did not come to see her first and give her a hug, before I ran off to play with my cousins.  She let me know that my hug mattered to her and my respect for her! I have made sure that it does for my entire life!"