Greg Albrecht

I have had a difficult time thinking about Greg being gone from us. It has been hard getting past the pain from that loss to all the fun memories we shared over the years without beginning to cry again. We had so many great memories together. We started our adult lives together at ITT Financial in Chippewa Falls Wisconsin, which is just outside of Eau Claire WI where we both graduated from college. At ITT we both worked on the financial systems and data integration for new company acquisitions for which there were many. That work literally required us to work through weekends (often times with managers supporting us by sleeping in nearby chairs). We'd get the acquired companies general ledger data after close of business on Friday's and have the weekend to do the conversion and run a multitude of ad-hoc reports to verify accuracy before getting approved to deliver the converted data to be uploaded at company headquarters in the Twin Cities before start of business on Monday's. These were just the start of many more road trips we would share over the years. It wasn't all work at ITT, okay it mostly wasn't as we most definitely resembled more of the work to live over the live to work model. Our company was located out in the country and on some of those weekend sleep overs it was not uncommon to see deer grazing on the lawn outside our window as the sun came up. There was a country tavern nearby and we would frequent it on Fridays for burgers, pitchers of beer and playing pool. Our office was small, probably less than 50 people total so we knew everyone very well, and it was a mostly fun work environment. Greg and I co-founded what has to be one of the first ever Fantasy Football leagues (Out Of Our Fantasy Football League) back in 1980 or 42 years ago. Even our 3rd line manager had a team. We also played together on the company softball and flag football teams made complete with pitchers of beer and pool afterwards to celebrate victory or defeat. Of course, victory was always more fun but there was still fun to be had even in defeat. Greg and I enjoyed what we considered good natured fun/ribbing with our co-workers. There was one particular co-worker considered to be an "old timer". His name was Ken and he was really, really old, probably in his mid-forties. Ken, seemingly with regularity, would lean back in his chair while sipping his coffee and loudly whisper yep, yep, yep fifteen years of experience you betcha ahh fifteen!! Years of experience. He'd often follow that by something like "back when I started, we only had 16k to program with … yep, yep, yep 16k. We recognized Ken to be a story teller so one day we wore our fishing waders into the office to let Ken know that we felt it was getting a bit deep with his BS in the office. We even named a new computer system after him (the K-BS 5000). One of our more fun pranks we liked to play on our Old Timer Ken involved our shared bank of computer terminals. We had about a dozen computer terminals used for software development and as it were you could only be logged onto one terminal at a time and if you tried to logon to a second one you had the option of logging off the first one, so Greg and I had some fun when we learned Ken's password. One of us would log him off and we'd watch his bewilderment as he tried to figure out what happened, he'd usually say something like dag gum it! Whoever was sitting closest to him would tell him that they thought he was hitting the keys way too hard and we would both agree that we'd seen the same thing. I have to say that back in that day half of our work was done on punch cards and a lot of paper program listings, so who are the old timers now. DOH!! Another example of that which is the circle of life. Ken was actually a good guy and he obviously made a lasting impression on us because even some 15 plus years later, Greg and I would be drinking coffee together and one of us would say "fifteen years of experience yep, yep, you betcha ahh fifteen years! Another one of my favorite experiences with Greg involved opening day of the trout fishing season back in 1980. We found a guide to the best trout fishing published by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. We picked out what looked to be a great spot for opening day and with dedication and determination toward success we arrived at what would be considered a creek just before sunlight. By noon we were on the verge of surrender. We hadn't made it 100 yards up stream from the road and other than snagging a couple of sucker fish we were trout-less and more than a little bit muddy. The creek bank resembled a swamp-like cow pasture (well it actually was a cow pasture … and in Wisconsin … go figure). We were sinking into deep mud and had to lay down in order to get unstuck at times. A lot of people would have seen this as an opening day of trout fishing disaster (and we probably did too at the time) but in fact we were still having fun laughing at each other through the calamity of the adventure. We made a decision to give it another 30 minutes before surrendering to go look for another spot to salvage the day. Our perseverance paid off as a few minutes later we came upon a wide and deep spot on the creek surrounded by firm ground. We began to catch our limit of beautiful native brook trout and this creek became our favorite fishing spot for the rest of our time together in Wisconsin. We skipped the first 100 yards on those future trips so as not to get too carried away with muddy fun. We both moved to Texas in the early 80's. The Texas economy was booming and the Wisconsin economy, not so much. Plus, the added bonus of little to no more snow shoveling. Though way too hot to support trout living outside of captivity so our trout fishing adventures were over. In Texas, we continued our work to live model and enjoyed starting new OOO Fantasy Football leagues, playing racquetball and softball and doing our best impressions of a couple of weirdos (as Brittany would say) having fun in whatever we did. I joined Greg on a few of his sales road trips from Dallas to Galveston and stops along the way. Greg did some real work along the way (Brittany) but of course as always it was mostly about 2 weirdos having fun. Prior to Brittany and Brett getting old enough to be Daddy's helper in Greg's blind hanging side business, I filled that role from time to time. Yes, I did it for the beer and the company of a great friend. I have quite a bit of video with Greg helping me build a large deck in my back yard. To his dedication and work ethic most of the time I shot video of him doing the work. The least I could do:0) I wish more of our time together was captured on video. It is a blessing and a curse. A blessing to remember those great times we shared and the curse of sadness knowing we won't be creating any new memories as long as I live. Another funny moment I shared with Greg occurred on a Sunday afternoon of the NFL football season. As it often happened, Greg and I were watching football at his house. In the middle of the early game I wasn't feeling particularly well so I headed home to crash early with the aid of a significant dose of NyQuill. I woke up in a panic about 8 o'clock and just knew I was going to be late for work. I scrambled as fast as I could and in record time, I was headed out with suit coat on and brief case in hand. As I headed to my car the morning seemed off but I was running late so there was no time to dwell on it. The closer I got the office the weirder the morning seemed. Eventually I turned on the radio to hear a game being broadcasted. I can be slow at times but even I realized that I was probably going to be really, really early for work because it wasn't Monday yet. So rather than running straight home for some bonus sleep, I had to go share the experience with my friend Greg. With my suit on and brief case in hand I walked up to Greg's front door and rang the bell. I could clearly see him sitting on the couch in the living room facing away from the front door. I saw him quickly drop to all fours and scamper as fast as he could into his kitchen and out of site while wearing nothing but his tightie whities. When the door was answered and I was announced, Greg stepped out of the kitchen with hands on hips and a priceless grin on his face. Of course, it is another example of me being a dope but thinking of Greg in that moment still makes me smile. I was already missing Greg when Brittany gave me the horrible news that I know she hated to have to share. I can't describe the instant grief that I felt learning that I am now going to have to miss him for the rest of my life. I re-experience that grief just writing the words. I trust that he is in a better place, but that didn't stop me from crying for my loss and the loss for his family and other friends. I honestly struggle with the question regarding why bad things happen to good people. None of us has the answer but the grief can't stop asking. Greg definitely has great trust in Jesus and I whole heartedly trust Greg so there should be comfort in that for all of us someday. I know that I will miss him and treasure my memories with him always. Love you Greg!