My friend Erich Gunther died last Saturday, and I promised myself to lift my attention from my myriad tasks and distractions to write a few words about him. He wasn’t my friend of decades, or of daily or even weekly contact, but I consider him my friend just the same. Another thing: when I say “myriad” referring to the many things I’m involved in, irons in the fire and all that, it isn’t jack compared to what Erich would consider myriad.
The man was amazingly engaged: on dimensions of time, space and technical depth in so many forums that it makes me dizzy to contemplate them all. I smile a bit thinking about the number of organizations, standards groups, thought leadership circles, national and international conferences, issue forums, and commercial and government confidants writing in remembrance about Erich’s leadership, personal touch, and critical role he played in helping them understand and navigate their own complex landscape. If we printed them all out, I expect the stack would rival the three-foot-high one he often cited that comprised the important parts of the standard for the USB port - that paragon of interoperability that makes “plug and play” understandable.
I was walking near the beach with my wife and two daughters Monday night, and was treated to the sight of a beautiful yellowish full moon rising over the ocean, still low in the sky and creating a path of light on the water. That led me of course to thinking of the word moonshine, which of course led me to think of Erich. For all I know he made it as biofuel for his aircraft hobby, but it tasted good too! (Apple pie scented contrails??) Anyway, I got a bit sadder thinking that he was no longer alive to see such a sight, but chances are he would not have been looking at the moon. He would be at some late evening meeting, some large communal dinner, some gathering being part of a vibrant exchange of ideas. Erich, an architect of many things, was an architect of salon culture in our world, an essential ingredient to any human endeavor some laptop-at-night-in-the-hotel-room people should try. Wikipedia states: “A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine the taste and increase the knowledge of the participants through conversation….Salons, commonly associated with French literary and philosophical movements of the 17th and 18th centuries, were carried on until as recently as the 1940s in urban settings.” As an instigator or as a participant, Erich was a man in his element in these settings, and my fondest memories of him are from times like these.
I thought momentarily of ways we remember people we respect, and briefly imagined “The Erich Gunther Award”. Yes, The Erich Gunther Award would be bestowed each year upon the individual who best embodied Erich’s work ethic, tireless dedication, intellect, technological know-how and expert grasp of the human dynamic in advancing energy systems the world over. The problem is, I’m not sure anyone could win it…ever. When I heard about Erich’s passing and the shock and personal tragedy worked their way through my mind, one of my next (slightly ashamed) thoughts was, how are we going to replace him? We can’t – not for a long while – it will take a dozen or more people to fill those voids from a professional standpoint, and it won’t be the same. When a very large tree in a forest falls, it isn’t “replaced”. Other smaller trees fill the space and the forest moves on, but if that was one of your favorite trees, you’ll know where it once stood every time you walk by. I will miss my friend Erich Gunther.