Lost a co-worker

JediKooter · 07-20-2011, 11:37 AM

Sorry, but, this one really bothers me and have to get it off my chest.

Well, not a good way to come back from a four day weekend. As I went through all the emails this morning after getting into work, I find out that one of my co-workers that I had lunch with almost every day, had died on the morning of my birthday.

He had been out for several months due to a stroke or aneurysm (was never told exactly what) and I had thought that he was improving from the updates we were given. Don't know what happened, but, apparently his condition got worse after being moved to a rehab center a few weeks ago. This turn for the worse was not reversible, so his family decided to move him to a hospice facility closer to home. From the emails, it sounds like he was at the hospice for only a day or two before he died.

He worked for ILM for over 20 years. If you ever saw Forest Gump, then you can credit him for giving the artists the ability to make Tom Hanks look like he was actually there talking to JFK and others in archive footage. If you've ever watched the Clone Wars cartoon, he played a huge roll in getting the software developed and running for the artists.

He and only one other person here at work, I would consider to be friends and I was looking forward to him coming back to work in the next few months. He would always come to me if he wasn't able to reproduce a crash. He would say, "You got the magic touch". We would always talk about sports and movies or his latest cycling or climbing adventures at lunch.

I had lunch with him the day he had his stroke/aneurysm. He seemed fine and was his usual self. He said that he was looking forward to going on a 100 mile bike ride that weekend. Later that day at around 5 o'clock, I saw him walking towards the gym carrying his gym bag. That was the last time I ever saw him.

He was a heck of guy, funny, great attitude, loved his family and was very active outside of work. He loved to cycle and rock climb in addition to not being afraid to eat or try anything food wise.

John Horn, you will be missed.

Kodos · 07-20-2011, 11:49 AM

Sorry to hear about this, Jedi. Sometimes life sucks.

CleBrownsfan · 07-20-2011, 11:50 AM

Dang Jedi - sorry for your loss. You just never know when your time is up

JediKooter · 07-20-2011, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kodos

Sorry to hear about this, Jedi. Sometimes life sucks.

Thanks Kodos. Yes, unfortunately it does. You just have to try and make it not suck more than it does suck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

Dang Jedi - sorry for your loss. You just never know when your time is up

Thanks CleBrownsfan. That is true, very true.

Chief Rum · 07-20-2011, 12:21 PM

Sucks to hear, JK. Always hard losing good friends, and he sounds like a good guy. Keep telling his story--you won't ever forget that way.

JediKooter · 07-20-2011, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Sucks to hear, JK. Always hard losing good friends, and he sounds like a good guy. Keep telling his story--you won't ever forget that way.

Indeed. He was a good guy and from talking to him, he definitely lived life to its fullest.

DaddyTorgo · 07-20-2011, 12:43 PM

Damn Jedi - sorry bout that man.

JediKooter · 07-20-2011, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Damn Jedi - sorry bout that man.

Thanks DT.

MacroGuru · 07-20-2011, 12:48 PM

Do not like...

Jedi...sorry man...just realize he spun things for the good and made a difference in your life and others....sounds like a great guy...

Telle · 07-20-2011, 01:06 PM

Very sorry about your loss.

JediKooter · 07-20-2011, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

Do not like...

Jedi...sorry man...just realize he spun things for the good and made a difference in your life and others....sounds like a great guy...

Thanks MG. He was a great guy with a great sense of humor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telle

Very sorry about your loss.

Thanks Telle.

BYU 14 · 07-20-2011, 01:25 PM

Very sorry for your loss JK, it is really hard to lose a good friend and your description of him makes him sound like exactly that.

Thank you for sharing your memories of him.

tyketime · 07-20-2011, 01:29 PM

Sorry for your loss. Sounds like you had more than a co-worker... a true friend. It's nice that his work "lives on" in the movies.

JediKooter · 07-20-2011, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Very sorry for your loss JK, it is really hard to lose a good friend and your description of him makes him sound like exactly that.

Thank you for sharing your memories of him.

Thanks BYU. It is hard for sure and I really feel bad for his wife and family. You're welcome. I had to say something and this place is a good audience, so that helps.

JediKooter · 07-20-2011, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyketime

Sorry for your loss. Sounds like you had more than a co-worker... a true friend. It's nice that his work "lives on" in the movies.

Thanks tyketime. I knew him for less than a year and seems like I've known him for much longer. Yes, his work will live on for long long time which is pretty cool.

Subby · 07-20-2011, 02:41 PM

Sounds like a great guy and a good friend. I always like to hear stories about people who lived their lives to the fullest and I posit that your friend fit that description.

Hang in there.

JonInMiddleGA · 07-20-2011, 02:57 PM

Condolences on your loss.

I hope providing this link comes across as intended, as a tribute to his work rather than anything that would diminish his importance as a person.
His imdb listing is impressive, your description of him even more so.

JediKooter · 07-20-2011, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Subby

Sounds like a great guy and a good friend. I always like to hear stories about people who lived their lives to the fullest and I posit that your friend fit that description.

Hang in there.

Thanks Subby. He was without a doubt a great guy. I don't think he wasted a second of his free time.

3ric · 07-20-2011, 03:00 PM

John Horn - IMDb

That's a great resume to have.

JediKooter · 07-20-2011, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Condolences on your loss.

I hope providing this link comes across as intended, as a tribute to his work rather than anything that would diminish his importance as a person.
His imdb listing is impressive, your description of him even more so.

Thanks Jon. Awesome, definitely comes across as intended. He would sometimes refer to bug hunting as working in the code mine. He also worked as an engineer at the Diablo Canyon facility and found out that they built it in a mirror image of what it was supposed to. After that, he left and joined ILM.

JediKooter · 07-20-2011, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3ric

John Horn - IMDb

That's a great resume to have.

Not too bad at all.

RainMaker · 07-20-2011, 04:15 PM

Very sorry to hear. Life can be cruel sometimes.

JediKooter · 07-20-2011, 04:23 PM

Thanks RainMaker. It definitely can be and you can only control so much.

Sun Tzu · 07-20-2011, 10:59 PM

Brian,

That sucks man. In all, it's more my style to be happy than sad. It sounds like the guy truly lived life up while he was around, and...he went out on top! Sure he left a little earlier than he might have wanted, especially if you had asked him that day, but at least he was healthy, active, and worked on something he loved (not to mention did some pretty damned cool work!) for the majority of his life.

So, I say, cheers to John Horn! Hell of a life. Thanks for making those movies look so radical. w00t!

Marc Vaughan · 07-20-2011, 11:05 PM

Sorry to hear that.

FBPro · 07-21-2011, 07:33 AM

Sorry about your loss, sobering though makes me reflex on how I need to treat those who i am close to on a daily basis as I never know when it might be the last time I see them.

dolfin · 07-21-2011, 08:31 AM

Sorry to hear Jedi.

JediKooter · 07-21-2011, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Brian,

That sucks man. In all, it's more my style to be happy than sad. It sounds like the guy truly lived life up while he was around, and...he went out on top! Sure he left a little earlier than he might have wanted, especially if you had asked him that day, but at least he was healthy, active, and worked on something he loved (not to mention did some pretty damned cool work!) for the majority of his life.

So, I say, cheers to John Horn! Hell of a life. Thanks for making those movies look so radical. w00t!

I'm sad because I've lost a friend and a co-worker, but, he did live an awesome life and that is a very good thing. We (us at work) are supposed to be doing a celebration of his life here soon and I have always liked the concept of celebrating ones life rather than mourning someone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Sorry to hear that.

Thanks Marc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FBPro

Sorry about your loss, sobering though makes me reflex on how I need to treat those who i am close to on a daily basis as I never know when it might be the last time I see them.

Thanks FBPro. It definitely makes you take a step or two back and think about a lot of things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolfin

Sorry to hear Jedi.

Thanks dolfin.

07-20-2011, 11:49 AM	#2
Kodos Resident Alien Join Date: Jun 2001	Sorry to hear about this, Jedi. Sometimes life sucks. __________________ Indiana Hoosiers Football - 2025-26 National Champs The FOFC Ladder History thread

07-20-2011, 11:50 AM	#3
CleBrownsfan Pro Rookie Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: C-Town	Dang Jedi - sorry for your loss. You just never know when your time is up __________________ *XBox Gamertag:* Pronk32 FOOL-X - Cleveland Naps FOOL - Cleveland Cyclones SLOP - Cuyahoga Spiders Last edited by CleBrownsfan : 07-20-2011 at 11:50 AM.

07-20-2011, 12:21 PM	#5
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Sucks to hear, JK. Always hard losing good friends, and he sounds like a good guy. Keep telling his story--you won't ever forget that way. __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

07-20-2011, 12:48 PM	#9
MacroGuru Coordinator Join Date: May 2003 Location: Utah	Do not like... Jedi...sorry man...just realize he spun things for the good and made a difference in your life and others....sounds like a great guy... __________________ "forgetting what is in the past, I strive for the future"

07-20-2011, 02:41 PM	#16
Subby lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: sans pants	Sounds like a great guy and a good friend. I always like to hear stories about people who lived their lives to the fullest and I posit that your friend fit that description. Hang in there. __________________ Superman was flying around and saw Wonder Woman getting a tan in the nude on her balcony. Superman said I going to hit that real fast. So he flys down toward Wonder Woman to hit it and their is a loud scream. The Invincible Man scream what just hit me in the ass!!!!! I do shit, I take pictures, I write about it: chrisshue.com

07-20-2011, 12:43 PM	#7
DaddyTorgo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Massachusetts	Damn Jedi - sorry bout that man.

07-20-2011, 01:06 PM	#10
Telle College Starter Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Buffalo, NY	Very sorry about your loss.

07-20-2011, 01:25 PM	#12
BYU 14 Coordinator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The scorched Desert	Very sorry for your loss JK, it is really hard to lose a good friend and your description of him makes him sound like exactly that. Thank you for sharing your memories of him.

07-20-2011, 01:29 PM	#13
tyketime College Benchwarmer Join Date: Nov 2003	Sorry for your loss. Sounds like you had more than a co-worker... a true friend. It's nice that his work "lives on" in the movies.

07-20-2011, 02:57 PM	#17
JonInMiddleGA Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Behind Enemy Lines in Athens, GA	Condolences on your loss. I hope providing this link comes across as intended, as a tribute to his work rather than anything that would diminish his importance as a person. His imdb listing is impressive, your description of him even more so. __________________ "I lit another cigarette. Unless I specifically inform you to the contrary, I am always lighting another cigarette." - from a novel by Martin Amis

07-20-2011, 03:00 PM	#19
3ric College Starter Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Sweden	John Horn - IMDb That's a great resume to have. __________________ San Diego Chargers (HFL) - Lappland Reindeers (WOOF) - Gothenburg Giants (IHOF) Indiana: A TCY VC - year 2044 - the longest running dynasty ever on FOFC!

07-20-2011, 04:15 PM	#22
RainMaker Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Chicago, IL	Very sorry to hear. Life can be cruel sometimes.

07-20-2011, 04:23 PM	#23
JediKooter Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: San Diego via Sausalito via San Jose via San Diego	Thanks RainMaker. It definitely can be and you can only control so much. __________________ I'm no longer a Chargers fan, they are dead to me Coming this summer to a movie theater near you: The Adventures of Jedikooter: Part 4

07-20-2011, 10:59 PM	#24
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	Brian, That sucks man. In all, it's more my style to be happy than sad. It sounds like the guy truly lived life up while he was around, and...he went out on top! Sure he left a little earlier than he might have wanted, especially if you had asked him that day, but at least he was healthy, active, and worked on something he loved (not to mention did some pretty damned cool work!) for the majority of his life. So, I say, cheers to John Horn! Hell of a life. Thanks for making those movies look so radical. w00t! __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 07-20-2011 at 11:00 PM.

07-20-2011, 11:05 PM	#25
Marc Vaughan SI Games Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Melbourne, FL	Sorry to hear that.

07-21-2011, 07:33 AM	#26
FBPro College Starter Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SE	Sorry about your loss, sobering though makes me reflex on how I need to treat those who i am close to on a daily basis as I never know when it might be the last time I see them. __________________ GM RayCo Raiders-est. 2004-2012 Charter member of the IHOF-RayCo GM GM Tennessee Titans PFL 2011-2014 GM Tennessee Titans FOWL 2020-2025

07-21-2011, 08:31 AM	#27
dolfin High School JV Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Texas	Sorry to hear Jedi.

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