Despite the fact that Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the physician-assisted suicide doctor, died in 2011, I’m still asked if I was related to him.

I wasn’t, at least not a blood relation.

He permitted me to refer to him as Uncle Jack, something I’d been doing since his name became known to the masses decades ago. He was a brilliant, compassionate, kind and gentle man.

In early 2011, I had the tremendous honor of meeting him! Uncle Jack was invited to speak at UCLA by the Armenian Students’ Association and the Armenian American Medical Society of California.

Before he went on stage, I was invited to the “dressing” room to meet him. He reached out his hands to me as I entered the room, and I felt as though I was meeting a kindred spirit. He held my hands the entire time we spoke. I shared with him about some struggles I had finding work in hospice because of our last name, the challenges my mother faced in her dying process, and the absolute respect I had for him and his work.

During our meeting, Uncle Jack told me to: Take over where I left off

That is exactly what I am striving to do by educating people about end-of-life care

Watch Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s Final Speech at UCLA