My Dad, Don Wedewer, “The Bravest Guy,” would be 100 today. When I was researching and writing The Bravest Guy, I was asked whether Dad was a person of faith and whether he was put on Earth for a reason. My answers were easy: yes, and yes.
I don’t pretend to know the details of Dad’s Catholic faith. He was a private person. But I know it was the cornerstone of his existence and one that suffused his work on behalf of those with vision loss. The term “meeting people where they are” has become popularized in modern culture as a seeming shorthand for engaging people on their emotional turf and seeing their perspective.
Dad was masterful at that. His engagement with his clients was the complete package — he could empathize with, challenge, inspire, and enable all at the same time. He transformed service for a marginalized population that had knock-on effects throughout the country. He was recognized for his service on behalf of those with vision loss by Presidents Nixon, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton.
Not bad for a 19-year-old Army combat infantryman with a shattered body lying in freezing snow with flickering pulses of life separating him from death. Indeed, Don Wedewer was placed on Earth for a reason.
Happy 100 Bravest Guy.