Person Page - 5175

     Donald Glen Southard Jr. was buried at Westhampton Memorial Park, 10000 Patterson Avenue, Tuckahoe, Henrico Co., Virginia.³ He was born on December 22, 1978 at Henrico Co., Virginia.^2,3 He died on August 6, 2005 at Ashland, Hanover Co., Virginia, at age 26.³ He Donald "Glen" Southard Jr. was 4 1/2 years old when doctors discovered he had Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an incurable genetic disease that makes muscles deteriorate. Doctors told his mother that he would be in a wheelchair in three to five years and would be lucky to live 10 years. Mr. Southard, the Central Virginia Muscular Dystrophy Association's longtime poster child, died in his sleep early Saturday at his home in Ashland. He was 26. Burial will follow in Westhampton Memorial Park in Henrico County. "Glen was sent as a messenger from God to teach us a lesson every day. His faith is what gave him the strength he needed," said his mother, Betty Hart of Ashland. "Even though he couldn't scratch his nose, brush his teeth, turn over in bed or go to the bathroom by himself, he never complained," she said. "He always had a smile on his face. His brothers were his arms and legs. He loved them so much, and they were so good to him." Mr. Southard graduated from Patrick Henry High School and took college-level classes until muscle weakness made it too difficult to take notes. Until he grew too sick, he worked a job especially created and equipped for him by Keener Communications, an answering-service business. Mr. Southard was a natural athlete, and he played in the Ashland Little League while he was still walking. "All Glen wanted to do was play baseball," his mother said "His dream was to hit the winning home run in the World Series," said his stepfather, Walter A. Hart. Though later unable to play himself, Mr. Southard taught his brothers to play baseball. "Glen taught everybody," his mother said. "He had patience and the view. He touched everyone he met in some way." He walked until he was 13, when a go-cart accident shoved a sprocket through his foot and up his leg to his knee. Unable to use crutches, he sat in a wheelchair while his leg was in a cast. With the inactivity, his muscles atrophied, and doctors thought he wouldn't walk again. But his mother said, "When Glen went for his monthly MD checkup, he told his doctor he had a surprise for him. Glen stood and walked to his doctor, who was at the end of the hall." The doctor wept. When Mr. Southard eventually lost his walking ability, he received his first electric wheelchair when he was in the ninth grade. "He drove it around and around our driveway saying, 'I'm free! I'm free!'" his mother said. He participated in numerous fundraisers for muscular dystrophy and gave inspirational talks in the community. "Glen never let his disability get to him," his mother said. "He did more things in those 26 years than most people who live to be 74. I know that he's finally hit that home run." Survivors also include his father, Donald Southard Sr. of Ashland; a brother, Hunter Southard of Ashland; two stepbrothers, Walter "Wally" Hart of Bluefield and Kyle Hart of Ashland; his grandparents, Dorothy M. Walder of Reedville, and Donald and Norma Southard of Williamsburg; and his stepgrandparents, Louise and Harvey Ragland of Dawn. on August 9, 2005.³