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In so many ways, Paul Ruby is just another average dad in Geneva.
You see him all the time around town, at a basketball or a football game, at a local restaurant or the Herrington Inn, where he's the general manager. Whether it's at a school band concert or parent-teacher conference, a post prom party or a volunteer event, you look up, and there's Paul, another suburban dad in a baseball cap, doing the things suburban dads do.
But Paul Ruby isn't just another dad—he's ... what? "Amazing" doesn't seem to quite do him justice. A local celebrity? A role model? A hero?
An inspiration.
That last word probably is closest, and it's a description that makes him uncomfortable. When we asked his permission to do this story, the first thing he said was that he'd rather the article not focus on him but on the fundraising efforts of an organization he created almost seven years ago—the Paul Ruby Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
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Ruby first noticed the symptoms when his golf game started to deteriorate. He was losing strength and feeling tired all the time, but he knew something was dramatically wrong one day when he didn't have the oomph to play catch with his son Wes.
So he went to the doctor and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2006, at the ripe old age of 41.
"I don't think I ever said, 'Why me?'" Ruby said in a 2011 interview for WGN's Chicago's Very Own series. "It's a little shocking and overwhelming, and it takes a little time to sink in."
Parkinson's is a disorder of the brain that leads to shaking and difficulty with walking, movement, and coordination. For Ruby, that translates to a struggle with motor skills, sometimes showing in the form of a slow or shuffling gait, a quiet voice, even difficulty turning up the corners of his mouth to smile.
The thing is, Ruby is smiling on the inside all the time. Somehow, he's happy. He's upbeat. He's optimistic—and his attitude is contagious.
"I try not to worry about the things I have no control over," he says. "I try to focus my energy where I can make a difference."
Wes found out his dad had Parkinson's disease about the same time President George W. Bush was vetoing a bill that would have allowed stem cell research for treatment of neurological diseases, including Parkinson's. So Wes—then in fourth grade—wrote the president asking Bush to rescind the veto.
"I was proud of him to start with, but it made me realize that if a 10-year-old kid was going to try to make a difference, that I sure as heck better try to do what I could too," Ruby said.
Ruby created the Paul Ruby Foundation in 2007. Since then, the foundation has raised more than $500,000 for research on a cure for the disease, which affects more than 1.5 million people in the United States.
"Paul exemplifies what community means in Geneva," said Meagan Holbrook, a volunteer for the foundation. "His leadership has provided me countless examples of selflessness and maintaining a community spirit. He doesn't only do this through the Paul Ruby Foundation; he does this through everything he does in the community. It isn't about him; it's about what he can do to make this world a better place."
"The thing I like best about him is he's so positive," said Dawn Vogelsberg, a 3rd Ward alderman in Geneva and president of the foundation.
Ruby gets much of his attitude and inspiration from his family—wife Linda and sons Wes and Logan.
"All has been well and will continue to be well, thanks to being surrounded by a lot of good friends and family," Ruby said. "They keep me motivated and keep things fun."
Logan was born three months premature with cerebral palsy, and father and son are dealing with adversity in very much the same way.
"He's never complained once about the challenges he's faced in his life, and he's been a role model for me," Ruby said.
For the past six years, one of the big fundraisers for the Paul Ruby Foundation has been the annual Concert for a Cure, when local bands come together and donate their time to perform at an outdoor concert.
This year, the foundation is partnering with Ron Onesti and the Arcada in St. Charles for a concert featuring the band of Steve Augeri, former lead singer of Journey. The concert is scheduled for 8 p.m. Aug. 2 at the Arcada, and all proceeds from ticket sales will go to Parkinson's research. Please visit the Paul Ruby Foundation website for more information.
Because if you do that, you can make one Geneva dad very happy.
"I'm starting to be able to smile again," Ruby said in that 2011 interview on WGN.
"It's amazing what a smile is worth."