Life’s Not Fair
Earlier this week, I received an e-mail from an old WebCT friend, Edmund Yeung. I remember receiving the e-mail on Sunday and I thought it was pretty cool to hear from him. We had not communicated for a few weeks and I fired him a reply with my MSN info and my personal e-mail account. I received a reply from him the next day and with typical Ed flare, he replied with great optimism and spunk.
Well, two days later, I sat at work and another WebCTer messaged me with some terrible rumour that he had heard. He said that Ed had passed away. My first reaction was of doubt and disbelief. I couldn’t fathom this kind of information. I had just communicated with him less than 48 hours ago. Why the heck would anyone say something like that? I sent Ed an e-mail and told him that there was a terrible rumour going around about him and I wished him well and that I had hoped he was OK. By now, most of the WebCT Family had caught wind of the rumour and there was a sense of urgency to dispel the story and prove it false, or true. Shortly after, we learned the truth. We had lost a great friend….
I know that most of my friends don’t know Ed, although some might remember him from school. He went to Churchill and he graduated the same year as me, 1995. I remember the first time I met Ed. It was July 10th, 2000. We started the same day at WebCT and I distinctly remember spending a few minutes talking to him that day. He was excited and happy to be working there. I still remember that day, that moment. Over the next few years, we really got to see how special Ed was. He quickly transitioned out of Support and took on a new role, working on the website and communications for WebCT. Integral doesn’t even begin to describe how important he was. He fit the position to a tee. He was hard working, exuberant, happy, professional, astute, capable, unselfish, thoughtful, relentless, inquisitive, honest, and reliable. The next 6.5 years blew by and we were faced with the dismantling of the Family. I feel fortunate to have been around in late November when his days at the office were coming to an end. I remember having several discussions with him and we had a few moments to reflect on things over the years. I’ll sum it up with one word: bittersweet. It was always pleasant talking to Ed. He was genuine and he never pulled any punches. He always approached things with a grain of salt and that beaming smile of his. It’s a sad week. So young, so full of life, so full of promise. Life’s just not fair.
We’ll all miss you Ed.
