Eric rescued me into an exciting new job on multiple occasions over the years, but the time I remember most fondly is even further back, when I arrived at graduate school in the early 80’s. (Undoubtedly the golden mists of nostalgia have something to do with it – I met my future wife just down the hall on the same day I met Eric …)
A big part of it, of course, is that Eric was always one of a kind. You don’t often meet someone who claims to be in grad school only by accident, shows up with a pocketful of checks after a night of backgammon at the Cavendish Club, or invites you to be part of special projects like the Colossal Concrete Cube Clobbering Caper™.
Anyone from Lion Cave (or dynamicsoft or Software Production Research) would have recognized the group lunch expeditions for Chinese food, the team baseball caps when we invaded the applied physics courses, the March Madness betting pools, and especially the invitations to a “Quick cup?” of coffee to discuss some research detail.
Or just life. A common thread, then and always, was his genuine interest in the welfare of his various extended families. His wit, his counsel and his actions brought joy into Sharon’s and my life, and I know many others can say the same.
Peter thank you so much for sharing this. It makes me smile