FOREST, Miss. (AP) 鈥 The Mississippi man known as 鈥淐ase 1,鈥 the first person to be diagnosed with autism, has died.
Donald G. Triplett was the subject of a book titled 鈥淚n a Different Key,鈥 a PBS documentary film, BBC news magazine installment and countless medical journal articles.
But to employees at the Bank of Forest, in a small city about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Jackson, he was simply 鈥淒on," WLBT-TV .
Triplett died Thursday, confirmed Lesa Davis, the bank's senior vice president. He was 89.
worked for 65 years at the bank where his father Beamon Triplett was a primary shareholder.
鈥淒on was a remarkable individual,鈥 CEO Allen Breland said of Triplett, who was known as a fiercely independent savant. 鈥淎nd he kept things interesting.鈥
Triplett, a 1958 graduate of Millsaps College, enjoyed golf and travel and was frequently flying to exotic locales, Breland said.
鈥淗e was in his own world, but if you gave him two, three-digit numbers, he could multiply them faster than you could get the answer on a calculator," he told the television station.
Triplett's autism diagnosis arose from a detailed 22-page letter sent to a Johns Hopkins researcher in Baltimore containing telling observations by his parents about his aptitudes and behavior. The letter remains a primary reference document for those who study the disorder.
Oliver Triplett, Triplett's nephew, told that his uncle's story offers hope to parents of children who are different.
鈥淭hey can see Don and a community who embraced him,鈥 he said. 鈥淎s a whole, Forest encouraged him and accepted him. It gives people who have children on different levels of the spectrum hope that their children can live happy and full lives.鈥
Funeral services for Triplett will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the Forest Presbyterian Church.
