Tuesday afternoon I found out that one of my coworkers died of a heart attack. It was shocking and sudden. He was at work Monday, just as upbeat and jovial as always. He was such an incredible person that I wanted you to know about him. His name was Harold Leblanc and he was a great man.

As a coworker, he was always happy, always ready with a warm and uplifting word for you. You couldn’t pass him in the hallway without him greeting you, no matter how many times a day you passed him. He’d see me down the hallway, “Hey T, what it be!?” He’d ask about my mom (they worked together many years ago as drafters). He’d ask about my fiancé, Halie. He’d ask about my future plans. He was just as excited about my life as I was.

Going into his office for work, we’d end up talking about life. We talked about jazz and the blues, great lounges with great drinks, and the lure of big cities (he loved New Orleans). His daughter is a speech-pathologist and Halie’s in grad school to be one so we talked a lot about that. He’d ask about my shows and who I was playing with. He told me about his wife, his daughter’s wedding in Hawaii, and you could see his love for his family.

Farewell, Harold. We’ll miss you greatly.