More Rain in my life

I won’t be answering posts for a while – more rain has fallen in my life.

A dear person who was my mentor and advisor and friend died last night.

Larry Gilbert was one of the sharpest scientific minds I’ve ever known and being a post doc in his lab and later a colleague at the university was the best training I could have had. He helped me maneuver the straits and storms of my academic career.

Larry also had an infinite capacity for love. He willingly took on the role of my father when Dad died many years ago, and was my and my family’s unwavering support through many hard times. Larry loved my son and let him know how proud he was of him when he joined the military. Larry served with distinction as a communications officer on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific during WWII. I’m so grateful Patrick visited with him before he deployed last month. He often called Larry his grandfather.

Larry leaves behind three children, a passel of grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren, plus a huge population of former students,post-docs, and friends. He lived a long and remarkable life and was one in a million. It is my honor to have known him.

This is a poor tribute, but tears are getting in the way.