He left me a post-it note every morning

Dean was a guy that always had a hug and a good parting word for everyone he met. Each morning he left me a post-it note next to the coffee maker for me to find when I woke up. Always words of encouragement and love.

We met a little over 3 years ago and were almost immediately best friends. During that time we attended 14 rock concerts, traveled 8 states (mostly for food) and took 3 trips to Mexico (neither of us had traveled outside the states before).

In September of 2017 Dean was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. We had no idea what that road was going to look like – we just knew we were doing it together. Despite his illness and treatment Dean kept his positive attitude and continued to have a good word for others – and his beautiful notes for me.

In his last weeks, he told me that if he had any advice to pass on it would be to tell people to “Remember to eat the cake”. We lost him June 29th and I will treasure his notes and his words of love always. 

In his spirit, I would encourage everyone to take the time to write the notes. Tell people you love them and “remember to eat the cake.” Those memories and moments of love are priceless. – Jackie