Farewell to a Fallen Warrior

[In the Summer of 1999, Kemp Burleson had what he thought was going to be a rather routine annual physical exam. By his own estimate, at 37-years-old he was in perfect health. There was no warning of what was to come. At his wife's insistence, he asked for a blood test to determine if his cholesterol was elevated, as there was a family history of heart disease. Within days, the results were in. They were not good. It was not a cholesterol problem. He had leukemia and would need a bone marrow transplant to increase his odds for survival. In spite of the attempts to extend his life, he lived only several months following that initial diagnosis. The following is the eulogy that was inspired by our time together in the hospital.]