bobafred

My friend Erlene passed away this past weekend as a result of a tragic accident.

I met Erlene on March 25, 2005 at a PGA.com happy hour event. From the first time I met her I could tell she was a very special person. I remember talking about different books and Atlanta and just thinking that she was an extremely friendly person. It was impossible to not instantly like this girl.

I started working with Erlene at Super Deluxe in February of 2006. We shared a corner office with a printer named George, where we sat across from each other at a conference table. As time went on and Super Deluxe grew, we moved to different offices and then to different sides of a large cube farm, but she would always stop by to talk both work and non-work things. She was an extremely hard worker, often times putting in extra hours over weekends and even holidays. She was passionate about her work and doing the best for Super Deluxe.

When Lori and I first started dating I remember how happy Erlene was for me, and us. I think she might have been as happy for me as I was for me. I always felt that she honestly cared for me and my happiness. She was a true friend.

A bunch of people metup the other night to remember our friend and the great times we all shared together. There was laughter and there were tears. Afterwards, we headed over to The Sword show, because that’s where she would have been and that’s where she would have wanted us to be. I can’t speak for others, but it was a way for me to feel close to my friend again.

Erlene was smart, funny, talented, and extremely genuine. She was taken from us far too early. There was so much more that she was meant to do in life. I will never forget our Korean barbecue discussions, how excited she was about the monster truck jam, her laugh, or the thousands of other memories that have slowly trickled back to my brain over the past few days.

My heart goes out to Erlene’s family, Aaron, and all her friends. As I read tributes to her around the web, I am reminded how extremely lucky I was to have known her, if only for just a brief time.

She will be dearly missed.