Allen London was a beloved artist and friend of the Brain Injury Peer Visitor Association for years. Allen became an Atlanta Community Brain Injury Peer Visitor and helped hundreds of brain-injured and disabled individuals. He also taught art to young people in his temple.

Allen loved to paint; I can hardly remember a time when I saw Allen without a paint brush, colored pencils, or markers in his hand. Painting was his passion and his life.

He once told me that being a Peer Visitor helped save his life. He found purpose through our association and felt important again.

His art is hanging in Shepherd Center and at Shepherd Pathways, as well as at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. His gorgeous work adorns the walls of many people’s homes throughout the United States.

Allen loved bright colors. He seemed to enjoy painting on large canvases the most, but would paint on any surface that you gave him.

His art reflected his life – colorful, bold, bright, and always upbeat. One could not help but smile or feel good looking at his art. Allen was always in a positive mood and looking forward to his next big project or challenge.

Allen got his brain injury 28 years ago when he was struck by a car while walking. History was repeated on July 5, 2024, when Allen was waiting for a bus at a bus stop and was again struck by a car. He passed away shortly thereafter in the hospital.

Allen was known by many as “The Comeback Artist” because he was a well-known artist before his first accident. So many will agree that Allen did come back and continued to be a magnificent artist.

We shall forever miss his warm, bright smile and positive and gentle way.

– Ann Boriskie

View Allen’s artwork on his Survivor Story page.

Our beloved Cathy Hunt died on Sunday, September 13, 2000 after a two-month battle in the hospital with the COVID-19 virus, which caused pneumonia. She was in the hospital for two months, including one month on a ventilator.

For six years, Cathy had been a Brain Injury Peer Visitor at Shepherd Center and at Northeast Georgia Medical Center along with her husband, Scotty, and mother-in-law, Wynell, selflessly helping others. She was a schoolteacher and was active in her church and many organizations.

Cathryne “Cathy” Carithers Hunt was a schoolteacher with the DeKalb County School District and a retired schoolteacher from the Gwinnett School System. She loved people and had a dynamic love for others, particularly people who lived with physical challenges in their lives. She gave 110% in everything she did.

Cathy worked with Scotty and his ministry, C.O.P.I.N. Ministries, Inc. (Comforting Other People In Need) This ministry is a non-profit that visits nursing homes, hospitals, and rehab centers to encourage people to “keep on keeping on.” Scotty is a brain injury survivor of a car wreck, and he and Cathy worked at a Christian camp for families with disabilities each summer.

Cathy loved photography, crafts, and ancestry. She also loved serving at their church, Peachtree Corners Baptist Church in Norcross, Georgia.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be sent to:

C.O.P.I.N. Ministries, Inc.
PO Box 3392
Cumming, GA 30028

Dr. Bill Heidecker was a full-time dentist when he had a stroke in 2013. His rehabilitation work at Shepherd Center and Emory Rehabilitation Hospital, and his own determination, helped him recover back to the friendly, warm, and caring person he always was. He continued to do some dental work on lifetime patients, and was a volunteer.

Bill was a Brain Injury Peer Visitor with our own Brain Injury Peer Visitor Association, and provided help to other stroke survivors and their families. He volunteered at the two places he attributes to “saving his own life” — Shepherd and Emory.

Read more of Bill’s story (PDF) and how his trusted friend, his dog, saved his life.

Garry Phebus, one of our Peer Visitors, passed away Friday, March 25, 2011. Garry was an electrician who was accidentally electrocuted on the job and later developed ALS. Garry was a very intelligent man, very passionate and resolute in his convictions. He was kind, caring, and empathetic. He loved his family, especially his wife Patti, his kids, and his grandkids. Garry is now free from all the pain he endured in this world, and is with God — happy, and at peace.

Watch a moving tribute video on Facebook put together by his son Shane.

Croix, our beloved Canine Brain Injury Peer Visitor, passed away the end of 2018. He was loved by all. Along with his owner, Sue Harrison, and her daughter, Eileen, Croix did Peer Visits with brain-injured and stroke patients and their families at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Scottish Rite), the Shepherd Center, and North Fulton.

Everyone who met Croix fell in love with him. He brought a smile to patients who no one even knew could smile, and helped roll others’ wheelchairs, to the patients’ delight.

Rest in Dog Heaven, Croix. We all love you.

Read the article, Croix deemed a “superstar.”

Read more about Croix, and learn about Canine Assistants.