We are a group of friends of Christine Oliger and Dion Lerman who have banded together to help them deal with the impact of ALS. Please join us in support of these very special people.

Farewell, Dear Friend

 

Christine Oliger, 43, of Chestnut Hill,  a nonprofit development officer and peace activist died on July 23 from complications of ALS.

Mrs. Oliger was born in Valley Stream, NY. She attended West Windsor High School and received her Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Douglas College at Rutgers University.

After college, Mrs. Oliger went to work for the Bucks County Peace Center. It was there she met her future husband, Dion Lerman, and became acquainted with Quakerism. She attended meetings for more than 10 years before she and Lerman joined the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting in 2004.

The couple moved to Mt. Airy in 1999, while Mrs. Oliger began working in non-profit development and special events planning. She worked for Woods Services in Langhorne, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the National Havurah Committee.

It was while working for Havurah that she first began to have symptoms of ALS. She was diagnosed two and a half years ago. She and her husband moved into a first floor apartment on Mermaid Lane across from the Chestnut Hill Friends’ Meetinghouse.

When she died, she was surrounded by her family and friends,  Lerman said. “When Christine accepted the Community Beacon Award (from the Neighborhood Interfaith Movement) she quipped, ‘I feel more like a warning light,”’ Lerman said. “This quintessential comment from the ever self-effacing Chris perfectly illuminates her character of selfless work for others.  Whether conducting a book drive for the Fairhill community schools, continually participating in the peace vigil at the top of the hill, or volunteer cooking for the homeless, her giving spirit and humor never failed.”

A memorial service is being planned for a future date to be held at the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The ALS Association Greater Philadelphia Chapter, 321 Norristown Road, Suite 260, Ambler, PA 19002, or the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting Building Fund, 100 East Mermaid Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118. – JK

Greetings from Christine‏

Dear Friends and Family,

Hi, How are you doing?  I hope you are enjoying summer.  We have been so blessed to have so many caring friends like you.  In the past few weeks we have had so many people stop by to help.  Your company, kind words, helpful actions and caring are so appreciated.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

With help from dear friends we now have a raised bed garden out front.  My yelling, "Grow, grow, grow!" each day seems to have worked.  Of course, the wonderful heavy labor preformed by Steve and John and others to create the bed has a lot more to do with anything actually growing.  Thank you for giving me a place to enjoy daily.  If produce is left on your doorstep at midnight...I'm not responsible.

We have chickens!  So many friends helped make this a reality.  We are overwhelmed.  The chickens, (named Fritatta, Bendict, Soufle, Omlette, HB-guess what that is for-and Over Easy) are being chickens, eating all the vegetation down, escaping, laying eggs and clucking.  Stop by and say hello.  You might have a chance to chase one around the block.  Thank you to so many people-Phil, Ken, Jeff, John, Cindy, Jean, Lyn & a myriad of others.

To beat the heat, I went swimming.  The kindness of friends - David &Antja, Shannon and Stevik- and the logistics of planning a land war in Asia made it happen.  We need people who want to help & swim, so let me know if you are interested.

(Dion) We also  had the ultimate summer experience – a week at Cape May Point! Mollie (Dion’s step mother), and friends Tracy and Toro, provided their homes, hospitality and mountains of luscious food, and we saw and shared sunsets with our many friends, including Nanine, Claudia, Corrin, Jackie,  Jamie & Greg, Phil, and the dolphins. Our aides, Amanda and Julie, worked ceaselessly to make everything work for Chris – including powering the beach wheel chair up the dune across burning sands! They get special thanks and bottles of lotion!

I am now under Hospice care and have a great nurse.  The ALS has progressed and I now have very little arm and trunk strength.   I can no longer feed myself and swallowing is very hard; it usually results in a choking fit. My energy and stamina are very low. I can’t really do email any more – it may take Dion or Amanda, or whoever, a while to get to it. If you need an immediate answer, please use Dion’s account.

(Dion) After many thoughts, words and tears we have decided to stop holding on (“Suffering comes from attachment…” as the Buddha said). Chris is eating very little, and drinking not much more (not even frozen margaritas tempt her!) We don’t know how long she will be with us, but she is fading. Thank you all for your love, companionship and prayers. If you would like to visit, please contact us to prevent scheduling conflicts. It’s always a good idea to call before coming to see if it’s a good time. Chris usually naps, so 2-5 PM is quiet time here.

All our love,

Christine & Dion

 

Brazilian Dance Party Benefit, Saturday, March 6

Time: 
Sat, 03/06/2010 - 8:00pm

From:Chris Robinson
Subject: Thank you, Friends of Christine!

For me, the Brazilian Dance Party was energizing. I would like to see Brasil Project again. If you would like to book them, please contact Jim Hamilton, rittenhouserecording@comcast.net. If you did not get a copy of Anne Simoni’s CD, you may order one at www.annesimoni.com.

Once again, Greg Williams was a fabulous host.

Chris

 

From: carolyn schodt
Subject: That Brazilian Dance Party!

 

I love what Christine gets us to do!
She says people need to laugh more and dance more.
Well, we did. My head is filled with the warm and wonderful memories of last night: those parrrots, the First Day School people leading the way, the music and the dancing, Brasil Project musicians, Anne Simoni, AND all your wonderful selves being together.

Grateful for each of you,

Carolyn

 

Christine featured in Chestnut Hill Local

Mast
 
Thursday, July 9, 2009


ALS a new challenge for peace activist
by Jennifer Katz.
Christine Oliger on a recent trip to Portland, Ore.
http://chestnuthilllocal.com/issues/2009.07.09/news4.html

      Christine Oliger was the first woman in her family to go to college. She majored in economics at Douglas College at Rutgers University, but a senior-year visit from a Peace Corps representative and a weak job market changed her path, taking her to Senegal and ultimately Chestnut Hill, and providing guidance for an unforeseen challenge. Last year, Oliger was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
      ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. In 2007, Oliger was running the National Havurah Committee office in Mt. Airy. In the fall she noticed that she could not keep her flip-flop on her left foot. By December she was having trouble walking long distances.
      Oliger went to her doctor, who noticed she was having what is known in ALS terms as “foot drop” which is an ankle weakness that causes your foot to hang down when you are trying to walk. After months of tests, she was diagnosed in April 2008.
      When we met for this interview, Oliger was walking with a walker, which she needs to get from her sofa to the door just 10 feet away. She and her husband of 10 years, Dion Lerman, moved from their house in Mt. Airy to a first-floor apartment in a carriage house on East Mermaid Lane.
      It is difficult for Oliger to speak about the illness, which will eventually take her life. She has had to lean on her husband, an environmental health educator, her fellow Quakers (she is a member of the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting, which is across the street from her apartment) and friends, who have organized a group – the Friends of Christine Oliger — to raise money to offset some of the expenses not covered by insurance.
      With Oliger’s family dispersed around the country, she and her husband have had to accept the help of friends and acquaintances. Chris Robinson met Oliger protesting the Iraq war at the top of the hill in Chestnut Hill on Wednesday nights. When her symptoms started, she stopped going to the protests. Months went by before the two ran into each other at the grocery store. Oliger said it was awkward.
      “I was walking with a cane at that point, and so he asked what was going on,” she said. “You never know how much to tell people.”
      She ended up telling Robinson about her diagnosis and he offered to help with fundraising.
      “I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of work and help they’ve given,” said Oliger referring to the group that bears her name.
      The Friends of Christine Oliger set up a Web site and started getting the word out. On July 12, the friends group is holding a benefit concert with musician Kenn Kweder at Walk A Crooked Mile Bookstore at the Mt. Airy train station. The proceeds will be used to purchase a wheelchair-accessible ramp. The ramp will cost about $2,200.
      There is no treatment or cure for ALS, although Oliger is involved in a study that is trying to reproduce results from a study in Italy. For Oliger the uncertainty is both scary and comforting.
      “You can know what to expect as far as progression,” she said. “But you just don’t know when you are going to hit those points.”
      According to Oliger, ALS symptoms can also plateau at any time and for long periods of time. Unfortunately there is no way to know if that is going to happen. In the meantime Oliger spends her days working with committees from the Friends Meeting or rearranging her life to accommodate her new challenges. On the day we met, Oliger was busy making arrangements to get a new powered wheel chair. She is also working on fitting out a van she and her husband bought to make it wheelchair accessible and having a ramp installed to her front door.
      Oliger, who was raised Protestant, first encountered Quakers working at what was then the Bucks County Peace Center.
      “They had an amazing sense of grace and willingness to listen to everyone,” she said.
      She started attending meetings in Bucks County. She met Lerman when he was leading workshops for people considering participating in civil disobedience. She took his workshop and learned that he needed people to lead more workshops. She signed up.
      Oliger began her work with nonprofits and nonviolence after college. She entered the Peace Corps and was sent to Senegal.
      “I always wanted to go to Africa, and the job market wasn’t good so I went,” she said of her decision to enter the corps.
      Although Oliger, 43, would come back from Senegal early because of illness, she was profoundly influenced by her experience.
      “I wanted to do something that would make a difference,” she said.
      She went to work for the Bucks County Peace Center (now the Peace Center) a nonprofit aimed at reducing violence and conflict in schools, homes and communities.
      “I found that these organizations that seek to change the world need money to do so,” she said. “So I started working on fundraising.”
      Oliger said when she entered the nonprofit world she found a community of people who were dedicated and energized by the work they were doing.
      “I met amazing people who had passion for their jobs,” she said.
      Now that she is home, working on projects that relate to her illness, Oliger is reaping the rewards of years of contributing to others. One of the tenets of Quakerism that captured her spirit more than 17 years ago is the simple idea that everyone has a contribution to make.
      These days Oliger can no longer go grocery shopping alone. She mentioned this to one of her friends and committee members. There is now a list of helpers and a schedule being created to take Oliger to the store when she needs to do her shopping.
      For more information on ALS, visit www.alsa.org, or to find out more about the benefit concert visit www.friendsofchristine.com.

 

Past Event - Benefit Concert Featuring Kenn Kweder - July 12

Time: 
Sun, 07/12/2009 - 2:00pm

Hello, Friend of Christine Oliger.


“Thank you!” to everyone who worked on or who attended the Kenn Kweder Concert for Christine this afternoon at Walk a Crooked Mile Bookstore. Fortunately, we had excellent weather, for which I was not responsible.

Thank you to Kenn for a successful benefit. His music was folksy, humorous and well received by the 85 people who attended.

We raised slightly more than $1,300 for Christine’s medical expenses! Thanks also to Greg Williams, who will contribute an additional thirty percent of Walk a Crooked Mile’s sales during the concert.

Thank you to those who baked the homemade cookies and cakes. They were delicious!

I hope that you will all assist the Friends of Christine with our next event – a Beef and Beer on Saturday, October 10. Please let me know right now, if you would like to help us organize this event. We have a lot of work to do before October, and it will be easier for all if you will help.

Peace,

Chris Robinson   215-843-4256
Friends of Christine

Kenn Kweder

Join film and recording artist Kenn Kweder and the Friends of Christine for a fundraiser for Christine and Dion at Walk a Crooked Mile Bookstore, which is located at Mount Airy R7 Train Station, Gowen Avenue and Devon Street in East Mount Airy.

The outdoor concert will take place from 2:00 until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 12 (rain date to be announced). There will be no admission charge, but we will accept free-will contributions toward Christine’s medical expenses. Also, 30% of the day's Bookstore sales will be donated by Walk a Crooked Mile owner, Greg Williams. Light refreshments will be available. Bring chairs and blankets. Children are welcome.