Q: How long had Pat Conroy known about his diagnosis before he announced it? His death seems to have come very quickly, even by pancreatic cancer standards.
—Mary Shepherd, Atlanta
A: Conroy, the author of several books, including "The Lords of Discipline" and "The Prince of Tides," said he "recently" learned he had pancreatic cancer when he announced it on Feb. 15.
He died on March 4.
Conroy “was tired” and later became ill after his 70th birthday celebration in late October, the Island Packet newspaper in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, reported on March 12.
“Later, Pat told me that he first started feeling a bit weird at the ‘Conroy at 70’ festival. In other words, a little strange sensation around the abdomen. And I think that’s probably when it started, but nobody knew it,” Conroy’s friend Bernie Schein told the newspaper.
Q: I know that the concept for the Atlanta Beltline was presented in Ryan Gravel’s master’s thesis at Georgia Tech in 1999. What is he doing now? And is there any sign or plaque on the Beltline honoring him?
—Fran Jordan, Peachtree Corners
A: Gravel is leading the Atlanta City Design project on behalf of the Department of Planning and Community Development, he told Q&A on the News in an email.
He also founded a consulting company named Sixpitch last year and his book – “Where We Want to Live: Reclaiming Infrastructure for a New Generation of Cities” – will be released on March 16.
As for a plaque on the Beltline, which grew out of his master’s thesis, Gravel wrote: “There is no plaque – nor do I think there should be,” he wrote.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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