In September, one of our field guys died in a tragic car accident. His jeep went off a back road in a torrential rain storm and hit a tree. He was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle. They had to have a closed casket.
This kid was literally one of the nicest people I have ever met. He always had a smile (the kind that lit up his whole face) and never a bad word. I'm not just saying that. He was so sweet and well liked, the guys nicknamed him Opie. This from a pretty rough crowd - most of the nicknames given are not flattering. The loss felt throughout our small company was immense.
I think one guy summed it up gracefully when he said, "God must have had an incredibly special building going up in Heaven to have called him home so early.". He was 31, and left behind 2 young children.
I was asked to get quotes to have hard hat stickers made, maybe with his initials or something simple. I suggested OPIE instead, and it was met with a resounding yes. Every single employee in possession of one of our hard hats now proudly bears a memoriam to one hell of a guy.
15 comments:
Nooo, I'm sick and emotional and you almost made me cry!
You all did a nice thing in his memory though.
that was very sad. sniff. you DID bring a tear to my eye.
That sucks. Terrible when a really good person dies so young.
I think it's terrible when any young person dies. I am sorry.
Oh how absolutely tragic! That is so terrible but I love the tribute you are ALL paying him with the stickers. That is truly an amazing bunch of people you work with. Good for you.
And... uhhh.... I lost it at "God must have had an incredibly special building going up in Heaven to have called him home so early." oh! completely. lost. it.
Wow. Very sad. How sweet that you all honor him with the Opie sticker.
Now I'm curious: what is it you "do"?
Tragic story, but sweet tribute.
So sad, especially with young kids losing their Dad. I can't even imagine what they must be feeling now...
Thanks for the nice words, you guys. He was a great kid, and I just feel so badly for his family. Our company encouraged us to contribute to a trust fund set up for his kids for college, and they matched every penny.
Kate, our construction side is plumbers and steamfitters. Opie was a fitter and had been with our company since he graduated trade school.
RIP, OPIE, RIP.
Thinking of his family.
It's weird how that made me cry and I didn't even know him. I can just imagine how much his family and friends have cherished him and it's so sad for him to have died in such a senseless way.
The stickers are so sweet.
That's a really nice tribute. It's a shame he died so young.
Are you guys going to do anything for his family, for the holidays? It's bound to be a heartbreaking one for them.
You did make me cry. WHat a beautiful tribute.
Long live Opie the smiling good guy.
Happy Thanksgiving.
What a warm tribute; he was obviously loved. I love the sticker.
I'm sorry about your friend and Gram...
Sometimes I have a hard time, too, disclosing something so personal on my blog. That's the beauty of it, though, you can and usually it resounds with others.
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