“I will do anything for this cause in memory of my wife and so I’m especially honored to announce the Donna J. Seggebruch Legacy Challenge!”
- Steve Seggebruch
Meet Donna and Steve Seggebruch
Biltmore Estate in 2019.
Donna and Steve Seggebruch first met at a friend’s wedding in 1974 and a year later reconnected for a first date. “There was a spark there from minute one,” Steve recounted. “In 1976 we were engaged and then married in 1977 and spent 45 years happily married.”
“Our final trip together was in 2019 to Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC. She always wanted to go. Shortly after came the COVID-19 pandemic and Donna’s first symptoms of ALS.”
“We noticed slurred speech just before Christmas 2019 and sought medical advice in early 2020. In June 2020, we received the bulbar palsy ALS diagnosis, which predominantly affects the mouth, throat, and that region. It was a lightning bolt out of the sky.”
By 2021 Donna lost her voice. “Even though my wife couldn’t talk the last year of her life, we never lost the ability to communicate. When you spend this much time with the love of your life, you can communicate simply by looking at each other, by touching each other, and remembering all your shared experiences.”
announcement photo.
Donna’s symptoms progressed quickly, and they went into the hospital for a feeding tube consultation in January 2022. “She never came back home from that. She didn’t want extraordinary measures to preserve her life so instead she went into hospice care.”
There was a painting of a field of daisies on the wall across from her bed there, which shocked them both. Steve explained “her favorite flower was the daisy, but we never told them that. We didn’t request that room for her, God did.”
“She passed away in my arms 10 days after being admitted. I pray for the same courage that she showed when it’s my time to go be home with my dear sweetheart.”
After she passed, Steve was working on getting his own affairs in order and in doing so wanted to make sure to honor Donna and make her legacy live on.
“Before she passed, I asked for her thoughts on setting up a scholarship in her honor at the high school she graduated from. Even though she couldn’t move her face, I could see her face light up at the idea. But then after she passed, I said ‘that’s not enough.’ I recalled the Ice Bucket Challenge and thus The ALS Association and decided to get more involved. I now make annual donations, have included the Association as a beneficiary in my living trust, and share Donna’s legacy as often as possible.”
Steve in 2018.
“We don’t choose ALS; it chooses us. The only choice we have is to fight it together. I know we can find a way make it livable and ultimately curable.”
“Donna and her legacy will live on through my support of the Association and that perpetual scholarship to her high school. I know my legacy – my love for my wife – will live on through my support of the good work the Association does.”
“I will do anything for this cause in memory of my wife and I’m honored to announce the Donna J. Seggebruch Legacy Challenge!”
Steve will make an immediate $1,000 contribution to The ALS Association in honor of the first 10 supporters who notify us of their own legacy gift commitment by November 15, 2023!
That’s $10,000 of immediate extra funding to our research, care, and advocacy services.
“She created a legacy of love, and my legacy will be carrying on her story and supporting this cause – what will your legacy be?”
Click here to notify us of your legacy gift commitment – a gift to The ALS Association in your will, trust, or by beneficiary designation on a financial account – or call us at 202-464-8652 or email us at giftplanning@als.org by November 15, 2023.
