A Tribute to Jed Maxham By Sue and Leon Cobb On May 21, 2019, Bruce Gauld, the President of the Now and Then Vehicles Club said he had received a request from Lorraine Kelley whose nephew, Jed Maxham was dying from ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) to get a ride in a 1963-1967 corvette. This was her nephew’s last dying wish and he only had a few weeks left to live. According to Bruce, Leon and I were his last hope to find a car fitting his dream ride. Jed lived in Poultney, VT, near the NY border (Grandville, NY). Leon said we would trailer the car to Poultney, VT because we live in Vernon, VT, about 2 hours away. When I called Lorraine to make the arrangements, she started to cry on the phone, and I thought we were too late. As it turned out, she was so happy to hear from us, she couldn’t control her feelings. She said Jed was 38 and she had been trying for months to find anyone with this type of car who was willing to give him a ride in it. She had spoken to other corvette owners, but for one reason or another, everyone refused to agree to Jed’s last request. At this point, Jed was in pretty bad shape – paralyzed in both legs and barely able to move either arm. He was on an oxygen machine and was slowly losing his battle with this awful disease.
Leon angled the car, they had to raise the car with 2 by 4’s so that the winch that they placed Jed in would drop him safely into the corvette. As you can see by the pictures, Jed was not a small guy and it truly did take a village of men – Jed’s friends and relatives to achieve this task – but they did it. Once Jed was safely in the corvette, his oxygen tank was arranged so that he would be comfortable. As Leon started out of the drive, people from Hospice had arrived and they sang some of Jed’s favorite Elvis songs. Jed asked Leon where they were going. Leon said he told Jed that he was not familiar with the area and they would go anywhere Jed wanted to go, it was his ride. Jed had it all planned out – he wanted to do a big circle around Poultney/Grandville NY. Leon said that Jed was interesting, funny, and knew exactly where they were going. Leon said he was remarkably moved by Jed’s exuberance and thrill of finally getting a ride in this corvette. Jed’s excitement just emanated off of him. And Leon loved sharing the car with him! They were gone at least ½ an hour and when they drove back into the driveway Jed and Leon had brilliant smiles! Leon angled the car back to where it was when they started, and Jed was lifted out by the winch and placed back in his wheelchair. Jed beckoned me over to his chair and asked me for a hug. I leaned down to hug him, and I felt the overpowering sense of who Jed Maxham was. Here was a young man dying a horrible death, who radiated with life, happiness, and emotion. As I leaned in to hug him, I gave him a brief kiss, and we stared at each other for a few seconds, and I knew that Jed had become a part of my heart! Where Jed’s inspiration was a ride in a corvette, our inspiration was the courageous way Jed was approaching his impending death. It was a remarkable experience for both Leon and me. It had become our privilege to meet such an extraordinary young man. As Leon was loading corvette back on the trailer, Jed insisted I remind Leon to put the top back up – he didn’t want the car to be damaged by any rain. I did as Jed asked, and Jed was very relieved when he saw the top go up on the car.
On June 7, 2019 (9 days later) Jed Maxham lost his battle with ALS. According to his Aunt Lorraine, in his last words to her, he thanked her for finding us and that he told her he could still feel the power of the car’s engine and hear the roaring of the mufflers from the corvette. And he asked her to thank us! That same day, as we expressed our condolences to Jed’s family and friends, we thanked Lorraine for finding us, so we could find Jed. While Jed and his family and friends were profuse in their thanks to us for giving Jed his last dying wish to ride in this car, we were equally profuse in our thanks to having had the honor to having met Jed and experience his courageous fight against ALS.
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EditorWayne is a 52-year-old stock analyst with a penchant for classic cars and the martial arts. He takes his daughters on trips all over New England in his 1972 Buick Centurion. Archives
June 2019
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