Like many of his co-workers will attest, Steve was a great guy who always sought to help people. For over 20 plus years, Steve and I were co-workers with bordering territories, so we conversed often, especially around system maintenance times or when we encountered unusual problems with instruments. He’d call and say, “Eric, it’s slow down here and I know you need help with Georgia Cancer, so what do you have?” Whenever I had a problem with the beast (that’s what we named a system we had on-line in the past), Steve would be right there to give instruction and guidance.
More recently, I shared in-person time with Steve this past spring and summer in the Atlanta metro area when he came to assist me with customer training. Although we talked on the phone, we hadn’t seen one another in a long time, so I gave him a big hug. We went back down memory lane and talked about so many things, his bowling and my weight lifting, and our shared back pain from activities we so much enjoyed. Steve talked about his bottle collection and performed a show-&-tell picture exhibit of his prized possessions.
He shared many pictures on our last visit together, from his early Navy days “playing” with nuclear subs, to the boy-faced picture of he and his wife, to the more recent antique car he was restoring. Neither of us could imagine our last visit would be the final time our paths would cross; perhaps that’s why we shared so many memories. I’m thankful to have known Steve and look forward to seeing him on the other side of the land of the living. Peace and comfort unto his wife, family, and friends.
Eric.