Brian Randall, dear friend to many of us, is no longer with us.
I received a phone call earlier tonight that in depression, he took his life today, January 17th, 2014. He was a talented author, a friendly gamer, and a close friend. I don't know what to say. He left several messages for many of his friends, and I'll try and reach out to all of you to get them to you privately.
In his will, he left a general message:
"All the other Soulriders and Kitago...jin: Most of you were pretty cool. Thanks for putting up with me as long as you did."
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On February 1st, his family will be having a tribute to his life/sendoff. This is planned to be a morning/early afternoon event. If you are going to be traveling out, please let me know. I've given a base count to his old man who's handling all of that, but just in case.
This will be held at Sneha restaurant in Sunnyvale (near Lawrence and Central expressways) from 11 AM to 3 PM on Saturday, February 1st 2014. Please pass this along to anyone who might be able to make it. It's booked for 60, and has room for twice that, so anyone who can come to remember him, please feel free to.
Additionally, Rez and I are working to get photos up on Brian's site. They're linked from his front page:
http://soulriders.net/brian/photos/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All,
I'm not going to dwell on what a kind and gentle person Brian Randall was. That was clear to anyone who had the privilege to know him. He was a wonderful son, a talented and prolific writer, an exacting QA engineer, and a generous and caring friend.
He was the best, and everyone has moved up a rung with his passing.
A Celebration of Life for Brian is going to take place at Sneha South & North Indian Restaurant Saturday, February 1st, from Noon until 3 PM. The address is 1214 Apollo Way, Sunnyvale, CA, and is near the intersection of Lawrence and Central Expressways.
This invitation is open to everyone, so if Brian touched your life in some way, please take advantage of this opportunity to have some food and mingle with others lucky enough to call him family, or coworker, or friend.
Brian was not a formal person, so casual attire is preferred. And in lieu of flowers, I think Brian would have liked you to instead to reach out to someone you love. Tell them you love them. Give them a hug. Any goodbye might be the last goodbye. Make it count.
Thanks, Marlon