“Tony was disappointed that he had lived so long with the transplanted heart only to find out that it was cancer which seemed to be taking his life,” she said. “Tony was so pleased that his heart held out, but found it difficult to accept when doctors told him it appeared cancer was taking his life.”
She said it was a very difficult summer for Tony, who had been in and out of the hospital.
“He fought the good fight, and tried very hard to win each battle at a time,” Carol said. “We don’t have the death certificate yet, but it appears that he was doing fine with his transplanted heart, only to be taken down by cancer at age 51.”
Mr. Huesman was nearing the 31st anniversary of living with a transplanted heart. He received it from an anonymous donor on Aug. 30, 1978, at Stanford University Medical Center in California.
He once said he often wondered who donated the heart that helped him function for the last three decades.
“I was told the donor was an 18-year-old man and he died in a motorcycle accident,” Huesman once said. “I have wondered about him all my life. I would have really liked to have a chance to thank his relatives for this gift of life. But the donor never came forward.”
Mr. Huesman, who was employed by Tuffy Brooks sportings goods store, was married to Carol in 1997. With her assistance and with the help of friends, they founded and ran the Huesman Heart Foundation.
As president of the foundation, Mr. Huesman made frequent public appearances at community and school functions in which he discussed heart safety. The foundation has printed a number of “Heart Smart” booklets for elementary-age school children, and provided them free to all area students.
Thousands of students met Mr. Huesman when he visited various schools over the years.
Mr. Huesman was a graduate of Alter High School in Kettering.
Mr. Huesman, his family and friends sponsored the Huesman Heart Open charity golf tournament each year to support the foundation’s good works, and just completed the 31st annual tournament.
According to Carol, the tournament and the traditions started by the Huesman Foundation will continue and will be dedicated to her husband’s memory.
Viewing for Mr. Huesman will be 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, at Westbrock Funeral Home, 5980 Bigger Road.
A service will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Charles Borromeo, 4500 Ackerman Blvd., Kettering.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Huesman also is survived by his father, Rob Huesman, of Washington Twp.
Many years ago, not long after his transplant, Tony Huesman wrote these moving words: “It doesn’t really matter how we die, when we die, or why we die. What really matters, though, is how we live in the hearts and souls of those we touch along the way.”
Contact Dale Huffman at dhuffman@DaytonDailyNews.com or write to him at 1611 S. Main St. Dayton, OH 45409. Fax: (937) 225-2489. Phone: (937) 225-2272. Blog: www.DaytonDailyNews/go/fromtheheart.
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