An open letter to Dr. Donald R. Wenner:

Dear Doctor Wenner,

I drove past Oakwood Cemetery recently and noticed a long run of new concrete sidewalk on the Kaler Avenue side of the cemetery. I later learned that the sidewalk is the result of your generous contribution. Thank you for yet another demonstration of your generous spirit and your love of our community.

I also owe you personal debts of gratitude for the direction you provided to me over the past 57 1/2 years. The first is for your efforts in ushering me into this world in 1956. The second is for how you welcomed me back into the community in 1996.

When Mary Jo and I decided to move back home to raise our son, I was cautioned by a colleague in Cincinnati that lawyers in small towns get asked to do every kind of volunteer work imaginable. Forewarned is forearmed, or so I thought.

Within weeks of moving back home, you approached me and told me that you very much wanted me to serve with you on the Crawford-Marion ADAMH Board. I was prepared to say no to any such invitations while I established my law practice in Crawford County. But it was you who asked. How do you say no to the person who, how shall I say, induced your first breath and has known you longer than anyone but your mother?

Accepting your invitation to community service set the tempo, and the invitations just kept coming: Bucyrus Middle School Community Auditorium Renovation Commitee, Kiwanis, Bucyrus Preservation Society, Crawford College Connection, Crawford County Law Library Association, B.U.I.L.D. (Bucyrus United in Learning and Development), Oakwood Cemetery Association and Crawford 20/20 Vision. Because of your early intervention, the answer was almost always “yes,” and when it wasn’t “yes”, it was likely to be “not yet.” Over the past 18 years, I have learned that nothing has given me greater satisfaction than volunteering for the betterment of our community.

Several weeks ago, after the annual Kiwanis Chicken BBQ, I walked into the Youth Building at the Fairgrounds to collect recycling materials, and…there you were: north of 90 years of age and still leading the cleanup effort, doing whatever needed to be done, willingly, cheerfully, and persistently.

So, I guess what I’m trying to say, simply stated, is: thanks for the swat on the backside to get me breathing, thanks for the kick in the backside to get me volunteering, and thanks for the ongoing example that keeps me trying to keep up with you. My life has been busier, and more rewarding, for having known you.

Sincerely,
Rob Neff