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In Memory

Jake Etchart, Class of 2006

(from Carroll Alumni News, alma mater of Jake Etchart's parents)

A 2006 graduate of the University of Washington, Jake Etchart was wheelchair bound and a quadriplegic since the third grade and had lived independently in Seattle for the past five years (2001 to 2006) despite a progressive neuromuscular disease that limited his mobility. He was invited around the country to demonstrate the independence that his chair-mounted, voice-activated computer could bring to people with severe physical handicaps. Jake also spoke at medical conferences at the University of Washington and was among those the Christopher Reeves Foundation used as examples of overcoming difficult obstacles in life. Gregarious and a great friend to others, he loved adventure, from careening down ski slopes in the EagleMount sleds, soaring wildly through acrobatics in the back seat of a P-51 Mustang fighter plane, hunting deer from a blind or reeling in deep sea fish. And, he did it all without ever complaining about having a bad day.