[I’m posting this “Remembrance” that I wrote last summer after the death of my neighbor and friend, Al Lubran. I revisited this piece today and was especially taken with Al’s deathbed premonition of the dire effects on our government if DT were elected. Unfortunately, his premonition is proving to be all too accurate.]

Al Lubran was a new friend who lived just around the corner from my spouse Andrea and me in our retirement community – The Village At Rockville (TVAR). He moved in a few weeks after we did in March 2022.  We knew that Al had moved from Colorado Springs, where he was a longtime resident. Al was a rather private person, and it took some time before we got to know him better.

We shared with Al a love for live classical music, and we frequently ran into him at the Strathmore and other concert venues. Al also attended a lot of plays around town and often had good tips for upcoming concerts and other local cultural events. He regularly rode the Metro downtown to the Kennedy Center and other venues, even with his portable oxygen device for the last few months.

Al was an avid crossword puzzle fan – a passion he shared with Andrea and another neighbor on our floor. The New York Times Magazine weekly puzzle was one they always shared – making copies of it for one another and comparing their results afterwards. Al also regularly played bridge and poker at TVAR. He was active on TVAR’s Travel Committee and initiated some bus excursions to local concerts.

Al was a master of humor, regaling many of us here with his funny stories and puns. He had a keen appreciation for political satire, and filled our email inboxes with videos and cartoons, all with a decidedly anti-Trump bent. Al was also a regular attendee of TVAR’s monthly meeting of our Democratic Club.

We got to know Al more deeply after he came over one afternoon recently to tell us that his health was quite shaky and that he wouldn’t be around for long. We had been noticing him with a portable oxygen unit from time to time, but that soon became a constant companion. Al said that he had a fatal condition called pulmonary fibrosis and that his pulmonologist advised that he get his affairs in order and contact hospice. We were taken   assured him that we were available to help in any way.

We knew just a few elements of Al’s biography – that he was from Steubenville, OH, that he had served in the military and then worked for the Federal government for most of his career. We also learned that he had been an avid skier and world traveler, passions which he had shared with his wife Donna, who died in 2018. Al met Donna in Colorado, and they lived in Colorado Springs for decades. Al had moved to the DC area because he had two younger brothers (twins) who lived here. His doctor had recommended that he move somewhere with a lower elevation to facilitate his compromised breathing. Al celebrated the fact that he’d had two good years living at TVAR before his lungs started giving out.

I visited Al in his apartment a few times after he shared his dire news with us. He was remarkably sanguine about dying, accepting his fate with grace and dignity. He wanted to remain in his home to the end and contracted with the Jewish Social Services Agency for in-home hospice care. His two brothers, Bernie and Bob, supported him to the end, along with his devoted friend, Carol Stein. He died at home on the morning of June 18.

I learned from Al’s brothers a bit more about the arc of his life. He had gone to college at the Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, OH and then enlisted in the Air Force, where he rose to the rank of Captain. Al was proud of his military service in Turkey and stateside. He then went to work for IBM but left in order to move to the place he loved, Colorado Springs. He then went to work for the Federal government as a contracting officer based in Denver. He spent the rest of his career as a devoted public servant, serving in a number of Federal agencies. He spoke proudly of the fact that he had saved American taxpayers millions of dollars with his keen procurement strategies.

My last visit with Al was the most memorable. He shared how afraid he was feeling. Given his acute breathing disability, I assumed he meant he was afraid of dying. But no, he waved that off, and said he was really afraid that all his hard work as a Federal civil servant would come to naught if Donald Trump was elected to a second term. I was taken by his pride in his accomplishments and his deep appreciation for the established system of government he had worked for in both Republican and Democratic administrations.

May Al’s spirit rest in peace. May his fear for the future of our country be alleviated.

John Bayerl, 6/26/2024