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saturday, december 22, 2007

Burke Hayes

Burke Hayes, one of the four founders of the engineering company that became the international construction giant CH2M Hill died of natural causes last week at his home in Corvallis, Ore. He was 95.

Hayes formed the company in 1946 in Corvallis with two fellow Oregon State University engineering graduates and their former professor. It has grown to one of the largest engineering firms in the world with operations in more than 100 countries, more than 23,000 employees worldwide and $5 billion in gross revenues.

My story on Hayes' death, CH2M Hill Founder Burke Hayes Dies at 95, is at ENR.com.

saturday, april 02, 2005

John Paul II

Almost 20 years ago I met the Pope.

My sister and I were in Rome on a university study abroad program and were lucky enough to get on the front row at one of the weekly public audiences. As the Pope walked up the aisle to the dais he pressed his hand to the open palms of us in the crowd.

It wasn't a proper handshake but I put my hand out, looked him in the eye and said, "Hi Pope!" He kept smiling and moved on.

The story is a fun little anecdote for folks but the fact is I take a bit of pride in having met this man however slightly. First because I am Catholic and there is an intimate feeling of connection with the church he represents but it is much more than that.

More importantly, in a modern world where it is rather fashionable to be completely dismissive of religion, John Paul II was truly a figure worthy of admiration. read more

sunday, february 20, 2005

Joel Dossey

I got an e-mail this week from someone who had found my memorial page for Joel Dossey. They had gone to high school with him and wanted to know if it was the same person. Sadly, it was.

It is tough for me to believe my friend Joel has been gone three years this month. In some ways I still don't believe it. He pops up in my dreams more than I would have expected - and he still calls me neurotic when he does.

There was some strange charisma about Joel that seemed to put people at ease around him. I don't know if I was especially close to Joel - he always led his life his own way - but I think it is important to keep making the effort to let folks know how special a person he was. read more

tuesday, november 23, 2004

Bob Ellis

I pulled up stakes and moved out to Southern California in 1998 looking for a new job and a new start on life.

I really didn't know anyone when I showed up one chilly night at a little brew pub just north of downtown. It was a cozy bar with great home brews and I liked it from the start.

There was a group of guys playing the TV trivia game that night and I started chatting with them. They seemed to be nice folks.

I didn't realize at the time that I had just made some of the best friends of my life.

In the four years I lived in Corona, California, Main Street Brewery was my home away from home. It's regulars were my adopted family. They weren't just beer buddies. These were people I shared some of the best and worst moments of my life with and I am always glad I got to know them (well, most of them, anyway). read more

tuesday, june 08, 2004

Robert Quine

You expect a lot of unexpected news in the world but my mate, Micheal, sent me a note this morning that simply stunned me. The guitarist Bob Quine has died. There are a lot of folks out there that were huge influences on me but I just kind of assume their presence in the world. It is when they are no longer there; you realize how important they actually have been.

The fact is, The Velvet Underground were a pretty big deal to me growing up. And the fact is, all the bands influenced by them stand pretty tall as well, particularly the New York punk scene of the late 1970s. This includes Television, Patti Smith, the Ramones as well as Richard Hell and the Voidoids. read more

thursday, april 29, 2004

Ann Bell Haynes

One of the reasons I am in Peru is because of my grandmother, Ann Bell Haynes. Given my... tenuous employment history over the last year and a half her financial assistance was critical for this adventure. But, more importantly, her emotional support kept me moving forward with this scheme even when I didn't know if it was possible.

She believed in me, so I had to believe in me.

After injuring herself in a fall earlier this month, she passed away alone between nursing shifts last week in a hospice in Arizona. My family will gather in Arizona for a memorial service there tomorrow and I will still be here in Peru. My cousin and I had a mass said in her honor last week at the Santa Maria Cathedral here in Chiclayo. read more

sunday, january 25, 2004

Gordon Schexnayder

My uncle, Gordon Schexnayder, died Sunday morning. He wasn’t really my uncle. He was more like my great-uncle. But even that isn’t quite correct. I once had an interesting time explaining to Gordon’s granddaughter, Sara, how we were related. I think that, technically, we are second half-cousins once removed or, more simply, we have the same great-great-grandfather.

Which does a huge disservice to the actual state of relations between Gordon’s family and my own. Of all the family on my father’s side that I have spread across the wide world they are the ones I am closest to. My great-grandfather had eight children (i believe. I always seem to forget one) by two wives. My grandfather was one of the eldest and Gordon was one of the youngest. As a result, they were separated by almost a generation. read more