A wonderful tribute

Yesterday afternoon was Matt Galt's memorial service. It was a tough day for Andy and I, not to mention Matt's family. Andy was very honored to be a pallbearer.

The service was a wonderful tribute to Matt's life. Many people spoke about how Matt affected their lives. I had been thinking about what I would say for the past few days. I knew that there was no way I could put all my or Andy's feelings into words. I decided that I would just talk about a memory I have. What I spoke about is one of my favorite memories of spending time with Matt and Berwyn.

I introduced myself and explained that Andy and I have been business partners with Matt and Berwyn for the past five or six years. We had been partners on many fixer house projects... the nastier the better, as far as Matt and Andy were concerned.

Last November we were all in Phoenix for Julie's wedding. (Julie is Matt's daughter. She and I have become very good friends over the past couple years). The day after the wedding, Matt, Berwyn, Andy and I decided to drive around the Phoenix area. We looked at a lot of different houses. Berwyn and I were getting a little bored and really just wanted to go shopping. The guys weren't really interested in that, though. We drove by a few nasty little fixer houses. Andy and Matt got so excited and were talking about what they would do with those houses.... even though they knew they couldn't really buy them. I will never forget that day.

I really wanted to say more about how Matt has impacted our life. I just don't think I can do it justice, with words. Maybe someday....

Andy and I have both learned so much from Matt, both about business and about life. I hope we can take what we've learned, carry on with our lives, and make Matt proud of us.