Tomorrow Never Knows

A former colleague at my company passed away suddenly this week at the age of 47, apparently from a massive stroke. I went to the visitation earlier today. The news of Drew's passing came as a complete shock to everyone at work, as he was probably the last person that we would expect this to happen to. He was slim, active, and healthy by any measure. He left behind a wife and two university-age children. He just left our company about a year ago after being there for thirteen years. I did not work directly with Drew (except a little bit in my first couple of years with the company), but we had a number of golf outings over the years, and I got to meet his family several times at company events. I think you'll find a needle in a haystack before you'll find anybody who has a bad word to say about Drew. He was a gentleman in every sense of the word - warm, friendly, a consummate professional and a great family man.

I don't know how much stress played a role, or whether there were genetic factors involved, but it really doesn't matter to the people who cared about Drew. To lose a loved one any time is hard, but exponentially so when it happens without any conceivable expectation. I got to chat briefly with his wife today, and she said the suddenness was very hard on the family, but a relief that he didn't have any pain or suffering. She was putting up a brave face, but she was having a very hard time as one would expect under the circumstances. Drew had a very large family, and many friends and contacts through work, so the visitation line was quite long (and this was the third of four visitations). I hope that brought some comfort to the family, even if just for a while. The funeral will be tomorrow morning.

I suppose that this is just another wake-up call about how fleeting life can be. My boss has been in a stunned state ever since we got the news. He and Drew were both VP's in the company, and just a month apart in age. My boss also lost his mother-in-law recently, and yet another VP just lost her mother - it has been a very tough couple of weeks for our company's extended family. But Drew's passing has given all of us pause, realizing that this could have happened to any of us. No matter how much you take care of yourself and plan for a long and healthy life, there are no guarantees. Drew was an actuary's dream, and that didn't help him. Still, we have to remind ourselves that it happens far more often to those who don't take care of themselves. And that it happens to bad people as well as good, but we only take note of the ones who were good. We don't have much power to live longer, but we have a lot of power to live better. And that is our responsibility. Drew was a fine example for us all to follow.