I've had some time to think about it on the long ride home

R.I.P. Ronald J. Gross

August 26, 1949 - February 18, 2006

Many of you know this already, but my stepfather died on February 18, 2006. My greatest condolence in all of this is that I had the opportunity to be there with my mother when it happened.

My mother and Ron met too few short years ago. He was my stepfather, even before they made an honest woman of her, but he always knew his role. Even though I’ve been without a father for years, Ron never attempted to impose himself as a father to me. Instead, he did the greatest and kindest thing he could do – impose himself as my friend.

Above all, Ron was the funniest man I ever knew. Always ready with a joke, but not an obvious one, Ron had the ability to diffuse virtually every situation. And he had the most accurate social thermometer of any person I’ve ever known. The consummate salesman, Ron could read a room like a book and offer to each person in it, not only personal attention, but the precise kind of personal attention they needed.

Sadly, Ron’s time with my mother was painfully brief. And, believe me, there is so much about that circumstance that makes me so, so angry. But, at the end of the day, Ron loved my mother, truly loved my mother, in the down to your toes, make your knees weak way. And that – that love – cannot be bought with any amount of money or time. So, instead of being angry, I choose to be grateful. For the man that loved my mother like she deserved to be loved and the fact that my mother had the luck and good sense to take advantage of it.

I love you, Ron.