Paul Travers didn’t know it at the time, but the injury that forced him to leave the Appalachian Trail after he had hiked 1,500 of its 2,175 miles was a blessing in disguise.

His arrival back at his Parkton home in early August instead of late September meant Paul could visit his father, Herman Travers, at a Parkville nursing home. On Nov. 17, Herman died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at age 89.

“I got to spend more time with my father than if I had finished the trip,” Paul Travers said two days after his father’s death. “The disease took his mind and his body, but it didn’t take his heart and his soul.”

Travers dedicated his Appalachian Trail hike to raising funds and awareness of the disease that affects about 5 million Americans. When he started his hike on March 30, he pledged to raise $10,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association. He had collected about $6,000 when he was injured during the first week of August.

Travers had made it from Georgia to Vermont when he slipped and fell. He sprained a knee, hurt his shoulder and re-injured a sprained ankle. He spent several weeks at home, hoping to continue his hike after a few weeks’ rest.

But when he tried hiking locally with his 30-pound backpack, he knew he wouldn’t be able to finish this year. The trail’s end at Mt. Katahdin in Maine must be reached in early fall, before cold weather and snow sets in.

“I was three-quarters of the way there, and I’m definitely going back and finishing in the spring,” he said. “Even though my Dad didn’t know I was doing the hike for Alzheimer’s, he’d want me to finish.”

Paul Travers called his father “a soldier’s soldier.” Herman Travers was in the Army, witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor and later received two Bronze Stars for Heroism in Combat.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Frances Janiszewski; a daughter Regina Schuch of Jarrettsville, Md.; two sons, Paul Travers of Parkton, and Mark Travers of Manassas, Va.; fours sister and one brother; seven grandchildren; and a great granddaughter.

Visitation is from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 7 p.m. 9 p.m. on Nov. 22 at the Schimunek Funeral Home, 9705 Belair Road. A funeral mass will be celebrated Nov. 23 at 10.a.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 4414 Frankford Ave. Internment will follow at the Gardens of Faith.

 Memorial contributions can be sent to the Alzheimer’s Association, c/o Herm’s Hike, P.O. Box 2940, Chicago, IL 60690.

To donate online, go to www.paultravers.com.

---

user comments (0)