RIP, My Old Friend

 So Wednesday night I was at Fox's , meeting some old friends for drinks and dinner, and I got a call from Jeff -- I figured I'd call him back after. But he called again, and since we live 5 houses apart, took the call to see if our 'hood was on fire or something. Instead, he asked what happened to my friend Dave? What? He had gotten an email from Gables Stage, where Jeff and Lili get tickets, mourning the loss of Dave, a Board Director.

I met Dave in 1981, when he moved into the apartment below ours in the Honors Dorm, a WW II era apartment building that seemed WAY older than its 40 years. He was a tall and handsome and brilliant guy from Elgin, IL -- at UM on an academic scholarship like the rest of us in the dorm. He was a top athlete -- immediately became the leader of our intramural sports teams, He was joy to be around -- with that Midwestern humility combined with a keen intellect. Anyone could tell he was headed to the big time.

He had a thing for, as we then called them, Oriental girls. His serious girlfriend was Nancy, Korean American who was on the special 6 year college and med school program, and was beautiful and gifted as well as brilliant -- she won "Miss UM" by posing in a swimsuit and knocking out Gershwin on the piano. She became an ENT in Boca.

Dave was 2 years behind me, and we kept in touch. He got into Harvard Law, which was a big deal back then, before Harvard became the place many people of intellect AVOID because of the Palestinian tents.

Anyway, after law school, he came back to Miami and clerked for the smartest Federal judge -- Stan Marcus, who later rose to the 11th Circuit and now is retired. Dave loved the judge and vice versa -- he had his pick of law jobs, and decided to head back to Chicago to be closer to family -- they hired him at Kirkland and Ellis, the top firm there, where he rapidly rose up the ranks.

He also found a wife (by now we were using the term Asian), who was born in Thailand and was a stockbroker. And then, 10 years later, he and Oui (her name) decided to relocate back to Miami. Dave REALLY missed the Canes, and was tired of having to spend Saturdays in Chicago sports bars filled with Notre Dame fans. Greenberg, a top Miami firm, hired him, and Paul and I got Oui her first job as a FA with SunTrust Securities. They bought a beautiful historic house in the Gables, and had a terrific life -- though the marriage wouldn't last.

Dave had met Paul's 11 month second wife Jeannie at a party, and hired her for his divorce. He kept the house, and the divorce was pretty amicable -- no kids -- both potentially huge earners. Oui later became our broker at Oppenheimer when Pat left there, and I kept accounts with her for years afterwards. She and Dave were on fine terms.

Dave repped Jeannie in a commercial dispute, and as my Borscht Belt humor tells it, after they tried each others' cases, they tried each other -- they got married! Later in life, they had twins, a boy and girl, who are, I think, now 18 and in college -- at UM and SMU.

We kept friends -- Dave and Jeannie were wonderful hosts in their gorgeous house, and chaired foundations for Jackson Health and Gables Stage and political events. Several years back, the clownish County Commission tried to bring back Anita Bryant inspired anti-gay regulations, and Dave and Jeannie spearheaded fundraisers to keep it from happening. They won.

Paul and I got a major rollover case -- our client was left quadriplegic. We had a long lunch with Dave, who repped GM in a similar case, to get the lay of the land in those matters. He was terrific, and Paul and I realized we would give up 50% of the fee and bring in a large firm in West Palm -- it was a wise decision.

I spoke at length with Dave about a year ago -- he told me he was planning to retire at Greenberg, but then got an offer he couldn't refuse. Winston and Strawn followed its huge client Citadel to Miami -- they relocated here after their execs kept getting mugged in Chicago and the Mayor basically told Ken Griffin, the owner, "Well dems de breaks." Winston poached Dave -- with his Chicago and Miami connections, he was a perfect founding partner.

I reminded Dave he was near 60 -- did he really want such a big change, but the money was too good to pass up, and his kids would be starting private colleges soon...

Well, turns out Dave and Jeannie got the kids settled into UM and SMU and decided to celebrate empty nesterhood with a trip to Italy. Apparently on the way home, over the Atlantic, Dave was stricken with a brain aneurysm, and died. Jeannie was a trauma nurse before going to UM Law at night -- she knew what was happening, and unless emergency brain surgery could be performed 7 miles high, there was nothing to do.

I was shocked. Here a truly amazing guy, did everything right, was cruising into those supposably (Miami spelling) Golden Years with still young kids -- gone. He would have turned 63 next month.

Last night I got a call from Jorge, also known as Juez (Spanish for Judge since he was one), and we talked over an hour -- shocked at the loss of our wonderful friend. Jorge had dinner plans with him for next week -- he's trying to relocate home to Miami from D.C. where he has been since taking a GOP job in 2020, that kind of ended when Biden was elected.

The mass is set for 9/27. It's a by week for the Canes -- Dave would have appreciated that. He was a true student of football -- when we had our free game chats, he would invariably tell me something I didn't know. There's a celebration of life afterwards, at the Gables house where we had so many great times.

RIP, Dave -- hasta the afterlife -- maybe some celestial Canes.