THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610100149
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DOUG BEIZER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 81 lines
Sometimes a tragedy can, despite the pain, bring a family together.
In the case of Harvey Lee Gard, it's bringing a community together.
Gard died Wednesday of leukemia, and his family and friends have organized an art auction to help pay part of the $100,000 in bills left behind from bone marrow transplant treatments he had undergone to combat his disease. The auction, which is open to the public, is scheduled for Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Virginia Beach Center for the Arts, 2200 Parks Ave. Originally planned only as a fund-raiser, it also will serve as a tribute to Gard, who left behind his wife, Wendy, and 2-year-old son, Nathan.
Gard, 26, had leukemia as a child but it went into remission almost immediately after treatment. He was cancer free until last June when he, again, was diagnosed with leukemia. His insurance, provided by Medicaid, covered bone marrow transplant treatments only for people 21 or younger.
After receiving the news, more than 30 of Gard's close relatives and neighbors banded together to raise money for medical expenses, said Amy Thiel, Gard's cousin and the auction's primary organizer.
``At the time we found out that his leukemia had reoccurred, we first found out that we needed a bone marrow donor,'' Thiel said. It turned out that Gard's mother, Brenda Gard, a guidance counselor at Kempsville High School, was a match.
``Everybody was just ecstatic about that,'' she said. ``Then, we found out that his insurance wasn't going to pay for it. So then we had that hurdle to overcome.''
The first fund-raising effort for Gard, known by his middle name ``Lee,'' was a picnic at the Norfolk Botanical Garden, which raised about $9,000 and helped get the word out about the family's predicament.
At that time, Gard's wife, his mother and his aunt Robyn Thiel, spearheaded the fund-raising. Other family members started taking a more active role after that. Several smaller events, including a raffle, have helped bring in money.
``We're a real close family, so everybody kind of jumped in to help,'' Amy Thiel said.
Then last summer, while Thiel was at the Boardwalk Art Show, the idea for a charity auction was born. She had been asking artists at the show to either post flyers about Gard in their booths or make a donation.
``One of the artists said. `I can't donate any money, but how about if I donate a piece of art?' '' Thiel said.
The artist, Liora, from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., gave Thiel an unframed oil, water and material collage the next day and suggested holding the auction. Liora recommended others to contact, and Thiel, a Norfolk na
tive, already had some friends in the local art community.
About 75 percent of the pieces that will be auctioned off come from area artists.
Another local contributing to the event is Jennifer Parker of Juniper Designs in Norfolk. Parker uses hand-painted and hand-cut tiles to make wall hangings, tables and other pieces of furniture. ``I heard about the cause and I definitely wanted to help,'' said Parker, who donated a mosaic wall hanging. ``I think it is a good cause helping a specific person that is in need. Something like this makes you feel how lucky you are in your own life, especially when you have children.''
Items from the Eastern Virginia Medical School's art therapy program, where Gard once received treatment, also will be auctioned off at the event.
For additional help with expenses, the Gard family has signed on with the Organ Transplant Fund, a patient advocacy group and professional fund-raising organization that is affiliated with the Medical College of Virginia, where Gard was under care.
This Sunday's auction is meant to be one in a line of events to reach the family's $100,000 goal.
Gard's death Wednesday hasn't deterred friends from their fund-raising because they don't want his family left with medical expenses.
And they want to use the auction to remember Gard in a special way.
``It's going to be hard, but we want to make the auction a celebration of his life,'' Amy Thiel said. MEMO: For information about the auction, call 420-3681.For information
about the auction, call 420-3681. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Harvey Lee Gard, seen here with his wife, Wendy, and 2-year-old son,
Nathan, died Wednesday after a reoccurrence of his childhood
leukemia. by CNB