FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 24, 2018 • SUMMER IN THE BORO • THE QUEENS COURIER 55
movies is the 1972
film production of “Man
of La Mancha.” It’s based on the
classic story of Don Quixote,
a man known for taking on
impossible causes in pursuit of
something greater.
“Man of La Mancha” has
always reminded me of my late
ex-husband, Murray Schneps,
who died last week. He fought
what many people thought
was an impossible cause and
won. He forever changed how
children with disabilities are
served.
Murray did it against all odds,
and today, hundreds of thousands
of lives are better because
he dreamed the impossible
dream and achieved it.
Although we were divorced
decades ago and rarely spoke I
can’t help but love him for what
he achieved and for our four
children.
Murray was blessed to have
his three living children —
Samantha, Elizabeth and Josh
— holding his hand as he took
his last breath. When they knew
from Murray’s hospice nurses
that the end was near, all
with him for days until his
last moment on Earth.
We divorced after my daughter
Lara died, and after he had gone
through heart valve replacement.
During the operation, the surgeons
put him on a heart-lung
machine to keep him alive as
they replaced his heart valve.
The new valve caused his heart
to beat a different way — and
with it, he wanted a new life after
recovering.
We parted after 28 years of
marriage, but not before we
both had changed people’s lives
forever. I created Life’s WORC,
an organization that offers
people with disabilities dignified
Remembering Murray:
A man who made a difference
living in our
group homes and
day programs.
Life’s WORC
now includes the
Family Center for
Autism, reaching
thousands more
people living in
the autism spectrum.
But it was
Murray who did
the heavy lifting.
While Lara was
at Willowbrook
State School
in their Infant
Rehab i l i t at ion
Center, budget
cuts forced
the elimination
of staff to care for
the mostly helpless
people living there.
Though she
physically aged,
Lara remained
developmentally
3 months old and
required total care,
including feeding,
dressing and diapering.
My members
picketed and protested
when steep
budget cuts came
to Willowbrook.
Despite our protests
and dramatic
TV coverage,
nothing was done
to alleviate the
problem.
An attorney by
profession, Murray
realized that only a
federal class action
lawsuit would make
a real difference. He
pushed the Legal Aid Society
to take the case, but served as
the brains and braun to see it
through.
During the struggle, one of
Murray and Lara on the cover of his book, “I See Your Face Before Me.”
the directors of the Queens State
School, Dr. Tesse, told me, “Your
husband turned his rage into
good and changed the world!”
Indeed he did.
Winning the multi-year lawsuit
enabled federal funding
for the state programs to
instead be redirected to fund
group homes and day programs
“He changed
the world”
grandchildren, and the work you
did for Lara and all the other
Laras in our world. You made a
difference.
Rest in peace!
DYNAMIC DENTAL WORK
���������������� Dr. Adam Lublin is an Elite Top 1% Preferred Provider
VICTORIA’S
SECRETS
ETS
Victoria
SCHNEPS-
YUNIS
vschneps@gmail.com
m
tweet me @vschneps
One of my all time favorite
three went to his bedside, staying
for the 5,400 people who
lived on the grounds of
Willowbrook. The lawsuit
forced Willowbrook’s closure,
and the campus was
subsequently redeveloped
into the College of Staten
Island.
Murray went on to be
lead counsel in other class
action lawsuits, successfully
fighting for the rights of
people like our daughter,
Lara.
Those years were a struggle
— but they ultimately
led to glory days of success.
Murray was the first person
in his family to graduate
college and then law
school. His upbringing gave
him the grit and determination
to know how to fight
for what he believed in.
I credit him with giving
me the power to start the
Queens Courier in our living
room and the push —
well, it was more like an
ultimatum — to either get
the “office” out of the house,
or for me to leave! I moved
the newspaper to a nearby
office, and the rest is history.
He was a fierce friend and
for many years made me
feel like I was a queen on a
pedestal. I like to remember
his birthday gift of flowers
delivered weekly and, of
course, most precious gift of
all, my most beautiful flowers
of all — my children.
You did good, Murray.
Your legacy is forever in our
beautiful children and six
������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
link
