Friday, May 2, 2014

Garwood Kotite - Forever In My Memory!


I didn’t know Gar in his earlier party days.  I never shared an alcoholic drink with Gar but never ever felt like he was not partying with me, whatever we did or wherever we went. Whether floating down the river, traveling abroad or hitting a 49er game, Gar needed no superficial additive for a fun life…he was simply just full of it - sharing his infectious joy with all us all the time.  His smile was mega-watt, his laughter contagious and his non-judgmental character flawless.  He was charismatic, a rare trait that definitely personified this man!  He wanted you to have fun…he never stopped anyone from having a great time, and if babysitting some of us along the way was needed, this dude stepped up.  Lord knows how many times he was the designated driver on “boy’s night out” despite being affectionately abused about his driving skills all the way home by his drunken passengers.  Can’t figure out why he never rolled the van to shut us up!

His eating habits are legendary… we all know him from his healthy food habits shopping at Whole Foods Market…picking up some sprouts, tofu, maybe some veggie burgers…  NOT!  This man loved real food and could eat…like no other.  I recall one meal, looking forward to a steak and lobster dinner on a cruise ship one day with him and some other friends and I’m thinking about skipping lunch to leave some extra room for our evening feast.  No less than one hour before table sitting, I catch Gar hanging out at the pool deck consuming two hamburgers with all the fixings.  He said he needed an appetizer before the main course.  I’ll be damned if he didn’t match us fork for fork at the dinner table!

I could go on with other stories so fun and special.  We all have so many of him as well.  Collectively, we have memories of a person that transcended life here on earth.  I think we all realize that now…just how special of a person he truly was.

Speaking of which, I want to thank you Karin for all the joy, adventure, love, fun, excitement and support that you brought to Gar.  You two were an awesome couple and the respect and love between the two of you was evident to us all.  You brought to him a real life not otherwise possible on his own.  He was able to expand his boundaries, open his eyes to different and inspirational concepts and cultures, to live, and to just be more at peace with himself as he shared a new life with you, somewhat unfamiliar but fascinating all the same.  Still one to watch nearly every penny spent (something about those finance guys) he didn’t waste time realizing he couldn’t take it with him…thank you for helping him enjoy so much more while he was with us!

Speaking of his finance mindset…contemplating the cost of a $30.00 unlimited all-you-can drink soda pass on a weekend cruise, Gar quickly added up all the hours he’d be awake and then projected the number of cokes he could consume per hour, and decided that was one hell of a deal.  He bought the pass and never looked back!  I can’t recall the final Average Unit Cost here Gar but it’s safe to say that you got the better end of that deal.


It is so hard to believe that this deal is real….Gar is gone…forever in our memories but gone from our daily lives, and it hurts.  We love you Gar!