Jon Wardrip was a dear friend to me and my family for more than 25 years. The few words written here hardly do justice to the warm, welcoming place he, Dottie, Sara, and Matt have held in our hearts for so many years. To us, the Wardrips were and still are the quintessential model family.

Jon and I were colleagues at Texas Tech for 8 years beginning in 1978. It was there that Jon impressed on me the ways of teaching and academe. It was there, too, that Jon impressed on me the ways of friendship, especially the ways of those that last. At the core of both, and certainly at the core of Jon himself, was selflessness. To me, that was Jon, the most selfless person I have ever known. Combine that with Jon's gracious, open, and eager sense of humor, and you have one special man.

When he and I left Texas Tech in 1986, it was clear that though our days in the hallways and in each other's offices were over, our friendship was not. That proved to be true. And I consider myself all the richer for it. Years ago one summer, Jon, Dottie, Sara, and Matt visited my wife, Mary Ella, and me at the New Jersey shore for a few days. It was a treasured time. And there were laughs aplenty, such as with our discussion over the differences between the sexes. Trying to play the proverbial New Jersey wise guy, I asked Dottie and Mary Ella, "What do you people want us men to do?" Jon howled over my use of the word "people" in that context. But Dottie, without blinking an eye and with a crinkle of a wry smile on her face, said instantly, "Buy us things." Following that retort, Jon wasn't the only one howling. And it's with such moments that Mary Ella and I treasure the Wardrips.

Regardless of how Jon felt over the past 2+ years and during the many times we spoke, he was always the Jon I came to know in 1978. He was always interested and concerned about me and my family. He was always eager to hear the many jokes I was more than willing to tell. And he always laughed heartily at each and every one. It was as if he weren't ill. It was as if he were out of himself, bigger than himself, bigger than his illness. For me, Jon wasn't about Jon. Jon was always about the other.

I don't believe Jon is gone. I don't believe he'll ever be gone. An English philosopher once said, "To be is to be perceived." And so it is to me that Jon, with his extraordinary selflessness and his feel-good sense of humor, has spread himself into each person he has touched with his special gifts over the years. I know he has me and mine.