The Last Gentleman

I met Skippy at my first ad agency job out of college. Although we had lost touch over the past few years, he was always a great friend. And if we'd run into each other again I know he would have given me a huge hug, told me it was great to see me and asked how my brother was doing. That's just the kind of guy he was and I wish I'd had the chance to have that conversation with him again.

When I heard the news on Monday, I was in complete shock. It just didn't seem possible. I talked to my mom on the phone that night and told her what happened. My mom never had the pleasure of meeting Skippy, but I knew she'd remember me talking about him during the years when I was living in Des Moines and hanging out with him on a regular basis. The first thing out of her mouth when she heard the news was, "Was he the one who helped you put your bookshelf together?" I'd completely forgotten about this, but leave it to my mom to remember every nice thing that anyone had ever done for her daughter. During our time working together, the office manager at our agency ordered me a new bookshelf because my office didn't have one. When it arrived, I received an email that it was waiting for me in the reception area. When I got there I realized that not only did the box weigh 400 lbs, but it obviously wasn't assembled. In an agency full of men, the only gentleman in a one mile radius was Skippy. Not only did he cheerfully start helping me lug it into my office, (without me asking or even having the time to wonder who I should ask) but he spent the afternoon helping me put it together.

This isn't the most exciting or funny memory I have of Skippy, but when my mom reminded me of it, I thought it pretty well summed up the kind of person, and friend, he always was. He would give you the shirt off his back, and the matching hipster glasses, without a second thought and never ask for anything in return.

When I left that first job and started working at Strategic America, I was stunned to learn that all of my new friends there not only knew Skippy but considered him to be a great friend of theirs too. That's how it was with Jason - to know him was to love him.

Lindsey