![]() ![]() ![]() "We'd just go visit people who weren't coming to church. "If appointments would fall through, he wouldn't send us home," Schleiffarth said. John Schleiffarth, a former schoolmate of Kerth's at John Burroughs School, found him indefatigable. A master organizer, Kerth would lead his fellow Mormons on home visits. The Mormons put Kerth in charge of missionary work in his ward, which was based in Frontenac. He decided to go into business while staying active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Louis, Kerth finished up a degree in economics at the University of Missouri at St. It was only many years later, after she became a psychotherapist, that she could look back and see other signs - many of them subtle - that pointed to manic-depression.Īfter the wedding, the couple spent five months in Israel working on a kibbutz and studying the roots of Christianity. Early intervention and treatment are considered a key in mitigating the symptoms and saving lives.ĭennis kept Al's disclosure on their wedding night to herself. Dennis wanted to believe that Al's admission that he had contemplated suicide on their wedding night was simply a belated and severe form of cold feet.Ī mental illness? That had never occurred to her.ĭennis, who was then just 22, didn't know that suicidal impulses are a manifestation of bipolar disorder and that the onset of the illness frequently occurs in people in their 20s. ![]() What she didn't know on April 14, 1973, was that her husband may have been suffering from a psychiatric illness. Kerth, who was then 21, would go on to forge a career that years later would attach him to nearly every important civic project in St. Patricia Kyle Dennis knew on her wedding day that she had married a brilliant man in Alfred H. After some personal setbacks, friends say signs of mental illness were emerging. Al Kerth, Chapter 2: From the Height of Success to the Depths of DespairĪs Al Kerth's reputation as civic leader grew, so did the pressure. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |