It was an ordinary day. Just got an email from Just Sue giving me the bad news. "Listen to this!" I said to Carol as I read it. "Joe Kurjiaka died!" Her reply ... "What!!" Pretty hard to take. We were on vacation with the only means of communication the computer. Was sending emails to everyone telling about our journey and adding photos to each day's information. On Wednesday of the first week, Just Sue returned my email with the startling news. Joe was my boss. He was the Chief Operating Officer of the Manheim Township School District and had been my boss since 1999 when I retired from teaching and hired on to the district as an independent contractor, doing the in-house printing and publishing the Middle School Yearbook. Joe had me sign a multi-year contract for both jobs and helped me decide on a fee for both jobs. He told me that I had to have a $2,000,000 liability insurance policy to be in the school buildings, just as they require all contractors to do. Joe was all business and had the best interests of the school district in mind in everything he did. I appreciated that, since I am a resident of the township. Every few years Joe would tell me that they might make a change and use other contractors for printing jobs, but then I would gather prices together and prove to him that my costs were about half what he could get elsewhere. Always got a new contract. Never got an hourly raise, though. Joe was tough! I never pushed the issue since I had my pension and was happy with the fees that I charged. Always stopped in to see Joe and talk when I visited the district office. His office was piled high with paper on every open space available. Often asked him how he knew where everything was. Only ever got a smile, no verbal response. One thing Joe did was smile. He could brighten up a room as soon as he entered. Not only was Joe the COO of Manheim Township School District, but he was a member of the neighboring district's, Hempfield, school board. He was also active in the Rotary and in his church. How he ever found time for his family was a mystery to me, but he did. Last year Carol and I were riding bikes on the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ when I heard someone call my name. It was Joe. Turned around and got a chance to meet his family. His annual trip to the beach, he told me. The stress of Joe's workload and civic activities, as well as his family commitments was too overwhelming. Early Tuesday morning, May 10, 2011, his family found him in front of his home computer Googling "Heart Attack". He did not survive it and died at the young age of 47. I have a new boss now, but it will never be the same when I walk into the district office, looking for his smiling face. I'm sure that is minor compared to the pain that is felt by his family and close friends. The same thing will happen, eventually, to all of us, but it still comes as a shock. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Story in memory of a "Good Guy".
Sunday, June 12, 2011
The "Good Guys Don't Last Forever" Story
It was an ordinary day. Just got an email from Just Sue giving me the bad news. "Listen to this!" I said to Carol as I read it. "Joe Kurjiaka died!" Her reply ... "What!!" Pretty hard to take. We were on vacation with the only means of communication the computer. Was sending emails to everyone telling about our journey and adding photos to each day's information. On Wednesday of the first week, Just Sue returned my email with the startling news. Joe was my boss. He was the Chief Operating Officer of the Manheim Township School District and had been my boss since 1999 when I retired from teaching and hired on to the district as an independent contractor, doing the in-house printing and publishing the Middle School Yearbook. Joe had me sign a multi-year contract for both jobs and helped me decide on a fee for both jobs. He told me that I had to have a $2,000,000 liability insurance policy to be in the school buildings, just as they require all contractors to do. Joe was all business and had the best interests of the school district in mind in everything he did. I appreciated that, since I am a resident of the township. Every few years Joe would tell me that they might make a change and use other contractors for printing jobs, but then I would gather prices together and prove to him that my costs were about half what he could get elsewhere. Always got a new contract. Never got an hourly raise, though. Joe was tough! I never pushed the issue since I had my pension and was happy with the fees that I charged. Always stopped in to see Joe and talk when I visited the district office. His office was piled high with paper on every open space available. Often asked him how he knew where everything was. Only ever got a smile, no verbal response. One thing Joe did was smile. He could brighten up a room as soon as he entered. Not only was Joe the COO of Manheim Township School District, but he was a member of the neighboring district's, Hempfield, school board. He was also active in the Rotary and in his church. How he ever found time for his family was a mystery to me, but he did. Last year Carol and I were riding bikes on the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ when I heard someone call my name. It was Joe. Turned around and got a chance to meet his family. His annual trip to the beach, he told me. The stress of Joe's workload and civic activities, as well as his family commitments was too overwhelming. Early Tuesday morning, May 10, 2011, his family found him in front of his home computer Googling "Heart Attack". He did not survive it and died at the young age of 47. I have a new boss now, but it will never be the same when I walk into the district office, looking for his smiling face. I'm sure that is minor compared to the pain that is felt by his family and close friends. The same thing will happen, eventually, to all of us, but it still comes as a shock. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Story in memory of a "Good Guy".
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