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Following is a letter from Julian's sister, Anita:
... It has been a blessing to hear your fond memories of Julian. Sadly, he passed away on May 31st. We laid him to rest in Fredericksburg near our Dad last Tuesday.
Julian was most dear to me. He was by far the smartest and brightest of us all. There were six of us kids, three girls and three boys. Our oldest sister, Grace passed in 2008.
Julian had a nervous breakdown his freshmen year at James Madison. He spent the next 43 years in and out of hospitals and adult homes. He was schizophrenic and bi-polar. All types of medications and therapies were tried, however, he could never live independently or work. He lived near our Mom in the Nashville area for many years. About 12 years ago, my youngest brother Matt and I went to Tennessee and brought him back to Virginia in the Richmond area so we could make certain he had proper care.
He was hospitalized in late April to regulate his medicines and he also got pneumonia. Julian choked on a banana in the hospital and stopped breathing. They revived him but his "beautiful mind" was severely damaged. His wish to not live dependent on machines was honored.
As Matt and I were with Julian in his final days, we were googling his name (and other relatives)
and the Osbourn High 1970 site came up. I signed up under his name just to learn about those days as Matt and I were a bit younger than Julian. We were delighted to see that Julian had taken part in "My Fair Lady" and chorus!
Julian spent his last days listening to the soundtrack of "My Fair Lady" (thank you Utube and iPad) as well as the "Sound of Music". I pray that he is singing and dancing his way across heaven. If not for your website we would have never been able to do this for him. We are deeply grateful.
Kathy, for many generations our family has grown teachers! Our grandfather, three uncles and my daughter all have taught. I am convinced that God planned for Julian to be our special teacher as Julian's life taught us patience, humility and love.
Fondly,
Anita Schwartz
p.s. Enclosed is a recent picture of Julian at Christmas. He loved that hat!
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