Cal U holds memorial service
CALIFORNIA – Less than two days after his on-air marathon ended, Marc London went from the physical challenges he faced behind a microphone to the emotional challenges of a memorial service Saturday. London addressed family, friends, former co-workers and students at California University of Pennsylvania during a service held to remember his father, former university psychology professor Ira London.
The elder London died of Alzheimer’s disease Monday, only hours before his son began his “Marathon for Memory” to raise awareness of the illness. Marc London attempted to stay awake and on the air at the university’s radio station, WVCS, for 120 consecutive hours, but nurses forced him off the air Thursday when he became too weak to continue.
London addressed the crowd at the university’s Old Main Chapel, remembering him as a man with a love for baseball, theater and his family.
“There is a line from the movie ‘City Slickers.’ In the movie Daniel Stern stated, ‘At 18 years of age, I couldn’t talk to my dad about too much of anything, but I could always talk to him about baseball, no matter what,” said London, a senior radio and television major. “I’ve seen some pretty amazing sporting events thanks to my dad. I got to witness Pittsburgh Pirate Willie Stargell’s final game and many trips to the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.”
London even went as far in his father’s eulogy as bringing up not-so-pleasant moments from his past.
“I’m not afraid to admit this, but when I was 12 or 13 years old, I was a very bad kid. I was even arrested for shoplifting,” said London, 28, of Uniontown.
“My father stood by me through it all. I was supposed to go to juvenile hall, but he asked court officials to allow him to send me to a psychologist and get to the heart of the problem. After determining what the problem was, I was sent to a different school. I can never repay my father for all he has done for me.”
While he was disappointed about not completing the five-day sleepless marathon, which would have put him in the Guinness Book of World Records, London said he was happy with the attention his campaign received and the money he was able to raise in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.
“It was never about the record. My main goal was to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s and money for its research,” he said.
Friend and fellow WVCS disc jockey Mike Daugherty said the least of London’s worries was getting the record.
“In my mind, London did one of the greatest things this campus or area has ever seen,” he said. “The entire staff of the radio station completed the remainder of London’s marathon. We didn’t want to let him down.
“His goal was to raise several thousands of dollars for the cause, and when I left the studio late Friday afternoon, we were well over $2,000 dollars.”
Lori London, Marc’s mother, noted that her husband was a very unconventional man that had always done things his way, and by the way her son attempted to raise Alzheimer’s awareness, he was following in his father’s unconventional footsteps.
“My father was always supportive of what I did, no matter what it was,” Marc London said.
“He may not have understood why I wanted to attempt different things, but he always supported my efforts. …If I can be a fourth of the man my dad was, I’ll be a good man. And if I’m a 16th of the father he was to me to my kids, then I’ll be a good father.”
Family friend Tricia Rohlf noted that Ira London’s influence was evident not only in his son but in all those he knew.
“Alzheimer’s may have stolen so much health from Ira, but it didn’t steal his ability to touch us all and to love us all.”