A Friend Indeed

Down but Not Defeated

In the fall of 2000, childhood sweethearts Fran and Jan Delaney decided the time had come for semi-retirement. They’d raised three children, who were away at college. And Fran, then 48, looked forward to pulling back from a demanding career as vice president of customer service at Compaq Corporation. He could hardly wait to teach his wife to play golf.

Fran Delaney (far right) says his biggest challenge was telling his family (left to right, son Brian, daughters, Kelly and Karen, and wife, Jan)
he had ALS.

Except for a transfer from Boston to Houston, things were going according to plan. But while the couple was settling down, ALS made itself known. One day, Fran noticed his left arm was weak and his bicep twitched. On the golf course, his glove suddenly felt loose—a result of lost muscle mass. Still, the diagnosis stunned and confused him. “I felt better than I had in years,” he recalls.

Returning to their New England home, Fran was evaluated at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he continues to receive care. Four years later, he struggles through daily tasks. Twin Delaney children Brian and Kelly, 25, came back to help out. And older daughter Karen lives just 20 minutes away.

Delaney and his family poured energy into researching the disease. “It was clear to me that raising awareness and money for research was the only way to make a difference,” he says. He established the Fran Delaney Foundation and aimed high, setting a fund-raising goal of $1 million. Today the foundation boasts 55 successful events, more than 500 volunteers and $1.5 million in proceeds.

Last September, Packard Center Director Jeff Rothstein received the happy news from Delaney that the foundation was contributing $50,000 to the Center. “I believe the Packard Center stands out because people are held accountable for their research and must work efficiently,” Delaney says.

Grateful, Rothstein invited the family to present the check at the Center’s fall symposium. Brian Delaney praised his father’s tenacity as well as the Center’s vision and hard work. “ALS may have shattered some dreams,” Brian added, paraphrasing a message from Fran, “but it has united people for a common cause: finding a cure.”

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In the Aftermath