Tributes
Leave a tributeThe hole in my life will never fill
As you always said to me, " Man Up! ". But this time, I just can't stop my tears.
Please tell me that you are doing fine in heaven when I see you that time. Or do tell me in my dream if you can really see this.
I drank champagne on your birthday because had you lived just a few months more, we might be celebrating your 50th birthday together. This wasn’t part of the plan.
I drank champagne on your birthday because I remembered all those birthdays before. How many were there? I watched you grow from boy to man.
I drank champagne on your birthday because since we met, all those years ago, you always told me the hard truth. Even when it hurt. And sometimes you’d make me cry.
You told me I was a smart girl, only pretending to be dumb. So I went to college.
You told me that I needed a man who was “Yay Crista.” So I dumped my boyfriend and found a better one.
You told me that I was an artist. So I stopped selling other people’s art and started making my own.
You told me to write.
I drank champagne on your birthday because whenever you looked at the choices I was making with my life you fell into despair, “Crista, what will become of you?” And that always made me laugh.
I drank champagne on your birthday because when that horrible call came, that you were gone, I went numb. It was dark outside and the rain fell hard. I walked along the banks of the River Thames without an umbrella. I let the cold rain hit my face, trying to feel, trying to wake up from the fog.
And then I heard your voice. You giggled, in that way you do, “Crista, look what’s become of me!” And I knew it was you.
We spoke as I walked along the river that night. And comforted one another, so sad that this was how our story would end. But you promised me a new chapter, vowing that you’d always be there.
“Where?” I asked. And then I heard that laugh again. I heard you laughing.
As the dark river continued to rumble and crash below, I climbed the concrete stairs back to the busy street above. My heart was still heavy as the traffic and bustle of the city street came into view.
But there, right in front of me, stood a giant sign with your name on it. EVAN. And you whispered, “Here. I’ll always be here for you.”
I drank champagne on your birthday because you are still here. And when I fall, you still pick me up. You still slap me hard with the truth.
You still make me cry. You still make me try. Happy birthday, Evan.
That was Evan. Pure. Genuine. Unconstrained. And wonderfully madcap at the best times.
Friends, colleagues and family members said goodbye to you today. The stories that were told prompted lots of laughter and many tears. They were stories that remembered your creativity, genius, passion and the love you showed to others and the love people had for you. Safe to say, it was a unique collection of stories that could not have been told about anyone other than you.
Also, I still cannot believe your surname is Blank. I remember the first time you told me, I thought you were just being a cheeky bastard. At least I could the cheeky bit right, the latter part is still being intensely debated. We'll come to a conclusion by the time we watch up next time.
Nothing could be further from the truth than the name Blank when it comes to Evan.
He was dynamic, creative, funny, and always blunt, and that's what we loved about him. His memorable laugh would turn heads in a crowded room with people wondering who is that guy and why is he so happy?!
His laugh and his passion for his marketing craft were infectious.
If Evan was involved in your business you knew you were in good hands. Evan was a rule breaker, and I mean that in the best way. Sometimes getting things accomplished in the corporate labyrinth can be time consuming, slow and frustrating...not when Evan was in your corner. He had a way of cutting through the clutter, getting to the right decision maker and getting you what you needed and then some. He had a way of breaking down the most complex problems and making them seem so simple. It was the Evan way. Honest, True, and Unabashed!
There are few people in our lifetime that can bring a smile to our face when we hear their name and that leave an indelible impression on our soul. Evan was one of those people.
We will miss him!
Brilliant, opinionated, mercurial and of course, crazy-nutty ever so often. Never a dull moment working with him! Passionate and a indomitable cheerleader for The WSJ.
He was a formidable sparring partner. Once at one event, we garnered curious stares when we discussed an important account - he was gesticulating wildly, pacing restlessly and practically yelling at the top of his voice. Folks thought we about to punch each other.
Attaboy, Evan! I remember inducing wild guffaws from him when I used this A word on him. This is Evan - unrestrained, passionate and special.
I miss him. A lot.
Does he have a favorite charity for donations?
Leave a Tribute
The hole in my life will never fill
A letter to my uncle.
My Dearest Uncle Evan,
I miss you. I miss your spark.
I miss your smile and the way that it could light up a room and make everyone feel good.
I miss your laugh, your "cackle", the feeling it gave me as a child when I could hear it from anywhere in the house and it would always make me laugh, the way it made me want to hide from embarasment as a teenager and the way it would echo through a room and hang in the air until everyone would be smiling.
I miss your hugs, whole body hugs that would always make me feel so warm, secure and loved no matter what else was happening.
I miss the way that you could see things in a way that no one else did.
I miss all of the advice you would give me, even when I did not want it.
I miss the passion you had for so many things.
I miss your strength and stubborn dedication to the things you believe in, even when I thought they were stupid.
I miss the way you saw the world. How the simple became complex and the complicated became oh so simple.
I miss the world I saw through you. So big, beautiful and diverse, yet so simple and uniform all at the same time.
I miss the way that you could, and often did, make me feel like the most important, beautiful and intelligent person on the planet and yet kept me grounded at the same time.
I mss the late night talks, midnight dinners and hiding from family drama in your room.
I miss your love of theater, cooking, art of all kinds, travel and people.
I miss the way that you helped me to see the beauty, excitement and tranquility in a city, no matter how much I fought you on it.
I miss the person that you were and the way that it helped me learn to accept and understand the diversity and unique beauty that each person has to offer.
I miss your cynacism, and the way that it taught me to ask questions, push for better answers and expect from other people the best that they have to offer.
I miss the person you always saw in me and expected me to become.
Most of all, I miss the person you made me want to be, the person you made me strive to become and the person that I felt so much closer to being when I was with you.
I would give just about anything to have one more day with you. To have the chance to tell you all of these things, make sure that you know how much I love you and ask you all of the questions that I never had the courage to ask. My world and my heart have a huge whole in them without you here but I hope that you knew how much bigger and brighter my world and my life have been because of you. I will always love you and feel so blessed and enriched for having had you in my life.
Your Loving Niece,
Your Princess,
Mandy
A first Evan sighting
I am up in Boston to visiting my little grandsons, Evan and Noah (ages 4 & 2), and my son Adam and daughter in law Nicole just recounted the first moment they met Evan. I had forgotten this story.
Adam was a freshman at college when Evan came down to VA in April 2002 and so he did not have the opportunity to meet him that year. But July, 2003, Evan was going to join us on a family Hawaii cruise which started in Honolulu. Adam and his girlfriend Nicole would have ample time to get to know him then since we were all going together.
I had told Evan that we were spending a week in Maui first before the cruise and he was welcome to join us. I had been to Maui before and loved it. Evan had heard Kauai was the place and we bickered about whether he should join us in Maui, or cancel our plans and bring the kids to Kauai first. He kept saying..."it is all about Kauai". And I would counter with "no, it's all about Maui". This probably went on for two months, He wouldn't give in, and neither would I, and so we spent the first week apart and met in Honolulu at the cruise ship terminal.
We were standing at one end of the cruise ship terminal when we heard Evan scream "aloha" with arms flailing from the other side of the terminal. Nicole said that the whole place, about the size of the biggest warehouse you could imagine, went silent. Just picture the scene of him screaming "ahola" from across this huge space. Nicole and Adam had never met him. They had no idea he was waving at us. And then I said, "that's him" and Nicole froze and thought, "oh my god, what have I gotten myself into, with Adam's family"! But within 24 hrs, she had fallen in love with Evan. Ten years later, she named her first son Evan. I guess he made a big impression!