Our pals
MICHAEL DEWESE DUGAN May 6, 1986-October 30, 2019
Michael was born in Rochester, NY on May 6, 1986. He spent his life growing up in Fairport and Pittsford, New York. He graduated from Pittsford Sutherland High School and “THE” Ohio State University. Mike grew up playing many sports, including baseball, basketball and soccer. But his favorite sport was golf, which he played growing up at Oak Hill Country Club. He played a nice game of golf and was well respected by his golfing peers. Mike was a diehard New York Yankees and New York Giants fan. Oh, did I mention he was a diehard Yankee fan. Mike loved music, particularly music by the Grateful Dead and Phish. Mike was attending concerts right up to the end! He loved sitting around talking about music with his friends, who were too numerous to count. We will love and miss Mike.
Ralph Brongo
Ralph grew up in Gates, Macedon and at Conesus Lake. He attended Cardinal Farley Military Academy and Fairfield University. He was hard working, compassionate and generous. He had a great sense of humor and was devoted to his family. His lifelong career as a plumber and builder forged long time professional relationships and friendships across the Rochester area. He was a 20 year member of Rochester BassMasters and was always looking forward to his next day on the water. Living with ALS he was proactive, resourceful, and independent, continuing to fish and travel as long as possible. He was very active with the ALS Assoc. and MDA, as his way of giving back.
Will Rhude
Will is a pALS living in Canisteo (southern tier) with his wife and two young daughters. As you can see by his mask (made by another pALS, Deb Quinn in Wellsville (southern tier) that Will is a Las Vegas Raider fan.
Joseph Marinucci
Please meet our longest living pALS Joseph Marinucci. I was born on May 1, 1948. I was raised in Charlotte, went to Holy Cross, Edison Tech and then on to Monroe Community College. I married a wonderful girl, Donna, have a daughter and son and three grandchildren. I went to work at General Motors and left after working 20 years. I bought the Pelican Bay Marina and built the restaurant there which is called Pelicans Nest. After that I owned Marinucci’s Restaurant on Lake Avenue. I moved to Ft. Myers, Florida where I was Chief of Sevurity on a Casino Boat. While living in Florida I was diagnosed with ALS. After that diagnosis I moved back to Rochester to be near family. Even living with fatal disease I am active in many organizations that help people living with ALS. I have been an active member of Hearts for ALS NY since its start in 2013. Today I have been living with ALS for 19 years and look forward to riding my wheelchair the mile from my house to Ontario Beach Park as soon as the Coronavirus lets me do it safely!