My heart is heavy knowing that an extraordinary person who brought great joy to the lives of many people is gone. My deepest sympathies go out to Carmen, Robin, Julian, Nuria, Kate, Alex’s many close and dear friends and colleagues, and everyone who, like myself, has been deeply moved by Alex’s impact on our lives.

I first met Alex in fall 2011 when Alex and my son DJ Gagner were placed in the same dorm as part of the Gemstone Honors Program at the University of Maryland. They became fast friends, and it quickly became apparent that they had many mutual interests and would have a longstanding bond. They joined Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity together and made many friends at Maryland that remained strong over the years. Alex stood out as a Renaissance Man for his wide-ranging intelligence, talents, skills, and interests. He was also fun to be around, with diplomacy, kindness, good will, charm, and savoir faire. It’s no wonder that he found a kindred spirit in Kate Powers. After college, Alex, DJ, and Frank Hackenberg lived for a while with me and my daughter Jenn when they started their software firm, Rackner. I picked up a few cooking tips from Alex back then. It has been a great pleasure to see their firm grow and flourish, as they were soon joined by Kevin Griffiths and eventually others. I continued to follow Rackner’s progress over the years, including listening to The Cloud Native Podcast Alex hosted. It was inspiring to see these friends build their dream, while at the same time making time to explore and engage with the world, and to maintain close bonds of friendship among themselves and their wider circle.

Alex’ numerous individual and group accomplishments both personally and professionally were remarkable in his life, but throughout, he was not focused only on himself–his connections with loved ones and everyone he associated with were always strong, and fundamental to his life. They reflected his principles as an honest, kind, inherently decent person. He was a beloved and trustworthy son, brother, partner to Kate, friend, and business associate. He is and always will be greatly missed for the impact he left, and most of all, for the love and friendship among family and friends and everyone he associated with, and the kindness he brought into the world. What an extraordinary life. Alex, we love you forever. You remain in our hearts.

Words cannot describe the incredible sadness felt over the loss of someone as dear as Alex - someone so close to our family, that we shared so many memories with - being in school together, swimming, biking, video games, traveling, and so much more. Rest peacefully Alex. 

Carmen, Robin, Julian and Nuria, may the many warm memories of Alex give you strength during this time.