Being married provides many nice things — and key amongst them are meeting friends of your mate. I was lucky this way 25 years ago to get hitched to my bride Sherri Richman (then living in Memphis) and through her to have the thrilling opportunity to become friends with Gene and the children and then to have the pleasure of getting to know Karen. No friend flew out to Seattle to visit with us more than Gene and I treasure all those moments and all our conversations.Gene was an entrepreneurial sole whose like I have never seen compared in my thirty five years of financing growth and tech companies. I, like certainly all who knew him, find in his passing a truly irreplaceable loss and struggle now to accept the reality that this generous spirit is now gone.He was someone who knew how to make something of himself and his dreams in this world and because of this mix of experience (good and bad) he was a friend you could speak with who had a special capacity to help inspire and direct one’s efforts.I am sure this was the case for all of of us who knew and loved the man and who by virtue of Gene will live on better people for having had the great pleasure of his friendship.Gordon Chanen Seattle, Washington
