Farewell, Dave

My work colleague Dave, who was battling colon cancer, died this past weekend. He had been sick for about 2.5 years, and had been in decline lately. He was the second employee after the founder, and did a lot to shape the business. He had one of those boyish faces so his age was hard to judge, but I think he was in his late 50s.

One thing I remember about Dave is that he had a phenomenal memory, and it was organized in a uniquely Dave way. He would pull up obscure little things he had heard 5 years ago and point out how they were related to something happening now. When I encountered new topics in my early years at the company, I always wanted to talk to Dave because I had a strong sense that he knew interesting and useful things about any topic, and I would benefit from talking with him. Because of his unusual mental filing system, it was sometimes a challenge to get out the desired information! He often gave nonlinear responses to questions.

And now that he has made this transition ahead of the rest of us, I feel that he still has information I don't have :-)!

Farewell, Dave. And thanks.