Do you ever wonder if you will be remembered once you leave this journey called life? There are many that have gone on before us, and family and friends have missed them, but have learned to live a life without their physical presence. And then there are some special people that have done so much to improve other people’s lives that they are not forgotten but they continue to be remembered for all that they did in this life. One such man is Edward Verne Roberts. Born on January 23, 1939, Ed contracted polio at the age of 14. This illness left him paralyzed from the neck down except for two fingers on one hand and several toes. He was dependent on an iron lung for the rest of his life. Still, Ed stepped out of his comfort zone and advanced the world of the Independent Living movement so that today many people with disabilities have the accessibility and availability to live a much more active and inclusive life. While there are still many barriers in every community that prevent full accessibility, this gentleman, that is considered to be the ‘father of the Independent Living Movement’, helped give courage to those that others tried to hold back because of their disabilities. At an early age, ‘he gave up thinking of himself as a “helpless cripple,” and decided to think of himself as a “star.” And a star he was as he self-advocated his causes and earned the respect of not only his peers, but also those in government at the time. In 1976, newly elected Governor Jerry Brown appointed Ed as Director of the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, the same agency that had once labelled him ‘too severely disabled to work’.