Couple of us here on Hubski lost a good man this week to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), a particularly wicked form of dementia that is also (thankfully) exceedingly rare. I seem to remember reading somewhere that 13 people have died of it in the last 5 years, or something. They don't know why it happens. They don't know the mechanisms of its operation. Someone just starts showing signs of early stage dementia, it progresses at lightning speed (faster than any other dementia diagnosis), and they are gone in 3-5 months.

I considered him my "extra Dad". He and his wife were friends with my parents before any of them were even married. We lived our lives side-by-side and even moved a couple states away to be near each other. When all four parents retired, they wound up buying a house together, and living two couples in one big house. It was pretty cool and many wonderful memories were made there on holidays and special occasions.

He was a brilliant man, and excelled at anything he put his mind to. So losing his cognitive abilities was particularly hard on him, but the speed of CJD was sort of a blessing there... he didn't suffer long.

I am filled with both a sense of loss and a sense of relief. I'll miss his sharp wit and clever comebacks and crafty endeavors. Rest well, my friend... you will be missed.