The Publisher
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Mar 17, 2010, 1:40 PM
Post #20 of 20
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Re: [The Publisher] EIGHT BELLS: Barton Beek
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Dear Scuttlebutt,
I appreciated your "Eight Bells" column about Barton, and wanted to let you know that we are finally having a memorial service for him on Monday, March 29, at noon, at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club. I don't know if you put such notices in Scuttlebutt, but if you do, I'd appreciate the opportunity to let a lot of people know about the service who might not otherwise find out. I certainly understand if this is not your policy.
Below you'll find a letter that I wrote to the chair of Barton's law firm, which pretty much summarizes the chain of events that led to his death, which was quite a shock. M.D. Anderson is a fantastic place, Barton had outstanding doctors, and he had withstood his cancer treatment quite well. Even with the sudden turn of events, which had absolutely nothing to do with his cancer or treatments, we really expected he would recover from the surgery and we would return home. Because there's been a lot of confusion about his condition, I thought you might be interested in learning what actually happened. You and Barton had known each other a long time.
You've done such an incredible job with Scuttlebutt and all related features - I hope it feels good to you. I've saved a lot of them to read when I have the opportunity, because I always learn something, catch up on what's happening, or read about someone I know.
Thank you so much for what you've done for so many sailors, and for the sailing world in particular.
Most sincerely,
Linda Beek
Dear AB,
This is a letter I had so hoped not to have to write, but the sad news is that Barton died on Saturday night, January 2, 2010, at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
Bart was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in August. He called it Ivan, and fought it fiercely. He consulted with doctors at several major cancer centers before choosing M.D. Anderson and Dr. Jaffer A. Ajani for his care. After extensive testing, his treatment phase began the middle of October. It was to be completed around the first of December when we planned to return home to California.
Alas, the fates decreed otherwise. The day before Thanksgiving, Bart started experiencing pain in his abdomen and by Thanksgiving night, when I took him to Anderson's emergency center, his temperature was spiking and his pain had become severe. The assumption was that he had suffered a perforation in the abdominal wall which allowed leakage from his digestive tract into his abdominal cavity, but scans did not reveal the source. On Sunday evening, his doctors felt it was too dangerous to delay, and performed emergency exploratory surgery to discover the source of the perforation and make repairs. The source was never discovered, it was assumed that the pinhole leak had sealed itself, and that the most likely cause of the perforation was a ruptured diverticulum.
This random incident was not related in any way to Bart's cancer nor the treatment for the cancer. Bart had withstood his treatment quite well, and had rowed on an ERG at a local L.A. Fitness with his daughter Carroll the day before his discomfort began. It was quite simply a case of miserable bad luck.
Recovery from such a major operation was a huge challenge since Bart was now in a weakened condition following treatment with chemo, an investigational drug, and radiation. Despite a beleaguered immune system and severely depleted resources, he met the challenge head-on with his usual courage and continued to fight. But multiple obstacles mounted; drugs chosen to help one situation caused worsening of another, pneumonia crept in, systems weakened and finally failed. Bart's brave battle ended quickly, and very peacefully.
Our son-in-law Val Lyon has sent me this message: "Barton finished the race last night. Controversy at the end as Bart on port crossed a pack of starboard 'tackers' to nose in at favored end. St. Peter ruled for Bart stating we should all consider ourselves fortunate to have been in the same race with him."
I am still in Houston but will leave for home as soon as possible. We have not begun to make plans for a memorial service but I will notify you of our intentions.
AB, I know how fond of you Bart was - he had the opportunity to observe your talents from the time you joined the firm, and he was so pleased and proud of you when you assumed the chairmanship. I join those sentiments, having always been your fan.
You may use any part of this letter for information to the O'Melveny family.
Most sincerely,
Linda
lbbeek@msn.com
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