There was heavy reader response to Garloch's series. Here are three letters the newspaper published:

     I was very touched by your in-depth series on Vernon and his family. We lost our Daddy, too, on Feb. 8, so we know exactly how the Nantz family feels. Vernon, with his proud and strong spirit, was much like our own Dad. I cried every day I read the stories... the love portrayed by his family and friends was so very touching and real to anyone who has gone through an agonizing ordeal like this. You are to be commended for writing this beautiful chronology about Vernon. I now grieve for him, too.—Maria Ham, Lake Wylie, S.C.

     I want to commend you for the series on Vernon Nantz and his illness and death. It was courageous of you to take on the assignment. I imagine you have received a number of complaints and criticisms, but I think your articles have been beneficial for some folks facing a terminal illness. It shows how great the hospice program is. It was a great role model for members of a family going through the same experience. It shows that death can be a friend and not an enemy, and beautiful. Best of all, you let the readers know that the source of the family's strength, endurance and hope for eternal reunion was their faith in God—and not just a hope but an assurance.—Kitty Peterson

     As I was standing in the cashier line this morning, waiting to pay for gas, I noticed the stack of morning newspapers on the rack beside me. Much to my surprise on the front cover of The Observer (in living color), I saw the picture of a dying man in his death bed. Then I go to The Observer online, and the same picture is there too. I can't believe you had the audacity to print such a graphic horror. You obviously have not had the experience of watching a loved one simply deteriorate before your very eyes.

     I don't need someone like you opening old wounds by spreading it in the local paper for the world to see.—David Williford, Charlotte.

     (Reprinted with the permission from The Charlotte Observer. Copyright owned by The Charlotte Observer.)