Sean was my first and oldest friend. Went to Pinky blue boy together. Many fond memories. RIH Sean. The world will miss you.
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Sean was a great friend to me. We went to grade school together. Good old Douglas Road. We both lived in the Greenhills neighborhood in Michigan. I often remember us playing D&D in his enclosed patio in the Summers. Riding are bikes all over the world. Playing kick the can . We loved playing video games. Atari , Intellivision and Colecovision when Matt McCory got it. I remember when Sean was one of the first ones I knew that got cable and we watched MTV. We started to get into rock and roll back then. Van halen, Motley Crue and Def Leppard. I recall camping out in Sean's front yard with Nick and Matt. We jammed out to Def Leppard Pyromania all night. Of course we had to take the cable remote and go change other people's TVs and watch their hysterical reactions. This is just a handful of good memories I'll always have about Sean. I was blessed to have know him 🙏✝️
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Sean was my evening buddy at Valve for many years. We shared clients and rocked out in the gym when everyone else went home. He volunteered to cook for us on trips to Mount Baker even though he did not ski or snowboard. On our first trip we both admired a huge mossy tree outside our cabin that was kind of spooky but really cool. He enjoyed hiking and exploring while we were shredding the mountain. I got the impression Sean knew something early on about life that many people often times take for granted. The way that he just soaked things up and enjoyed life in the most simplistic ways. It felt like he listened to music a little deeper, stopped to smell the roses a little longer, and of course was very passionate about sharing the benefits of fitness. He smiled even when he may not have felt like it and greeted people with his full attention. Sean was not perfect, but Sean was always his authentic self. I wish I took more photos of us. I wish I told him that I loved working with him. I wish that he could retire to be with his family. I wish we had more time. In the end he knew. Sean savored every moment of life because he knew that it was a gift from a young age. He fought for it multiple times. His strength was not purely physical but also in the way he lived, laughed, and loved the world around him. I will always remember him this way and let his experience remind me that every day is a perfect day to appreciate all that life has to offer. Rock on!
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Around this time of year he’d be diligently watch the Draft on and off and it was lovely to listen to him passionately talk about which Pro teams intend on picking who, who’s a second pick, third Pick, and overall just chatting away giddily about the Picks how this year might go depending on who gets who, and still would continuously curate his teams. He’s just impressed by the sheer athleticism and grit of these genetically gifted hard working human machines who he’d describe as equivalent to ancient warriors. Literally kids just out of high school competing for spots on professional teams. That’s wild!!! So right now he’d be watching the draft and loving every second of it.
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His favorite flowers are purple-blue rhododendrons and ombré pink-blue hydrangeas, mostly blue but he likes to see the colors fade into each other across the bushes. He likes lilac, lavender, hyacinth and probably lupine too… a lot of purple/blue flowers with a touch of pink… but overall he loves the mix of evergreen and seasonal plant, it was the best of both worlds for him.
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Don’t stop; Don’t give up; Keep going no matter what.
In response to "What did you learn from Sean?"
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Too many memories to count… Every year during Springtime, we’d go outside to idle and chat while observing the trees in full bloom and petals falling like snow… it was an annual ritual.
One special 4th of July, we hiked to the top of a large hill to observe the neighborhood lighting off fireworks. Because of our height on the hill, we got to see the entire horizon light up with fireworks from all directions, it was beautiful…
In response to "What was the most fun you ever had with Sean?"
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His kindness, resilience, and abundant love for everyone in his life. He’s reasonable and continued to educate himself, improving his exercise science practice. He has great work ethic, never gives up. He has an amazing smile and beautiful laugh. He’s also hilarious and often catches you off guard with spontaneous humor. Just a good guy all around…
In response to "What made Sean different from most people you know?"
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Being an older brother, he’d often mess with his younger brother, Nick. One of the pranks Sean would pull on Nick randomly and repeatedly was to
freeze,
slowly turn his head towards Nick with a creepy grin on his face and
not blinking and say in a deep voice “Sean’s gone; I’m
Carl” which would apparently freak Nick out and he’d say “Stop it Sean!” but Sean’d just continue and be like “There is no Sean;
I’m CARL”. So, Sean would just keep doing
that over and over and at random times to catch Nick off guard and mess with him, as brothers often do… Nonetheless, he loves his brother dearly and even shared a story about how in high school, there was a guy messing with Nick, and without missing a beat, Sean stepped in like “
Don’t mess with my brother.” to defend him. That’s a real brotherly bond of love if I’ve ever heard one…
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One of his favorite memories from childhood was when he was 8 years old and went to the theaters to watch the debut of
Star Wars. It was a movie like nothing he had ever seen before,
it was the most magical experience for him, all these crazy effects, new sounds - “No one had ever seen anything like this before!” - unique planets, crazy-looking creatures, wild adventures.
He was entranced by Darth Vader - this cool yet terrifying giant cyborg in black armor with a commandingly deep voice, crazy breathing sound effects, and red lightsaber. He was hooked and Star Wars became an idiosyncratic part of his life.
From then on, he’d read comics, collect action figures, collect posters, and obviously went to see the other two movies when they came out! This carried on up until the present when he’d watch other Lucasfilm movies and series like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Ahsoka, Andor, The Bad Batch, Boba Fett, and The Mandalorian (to name a few). That first time watching Star Wars in the theater was a core memory for him and he forever loved this pop culture phenomenon that boomed and captured his heart, becoming a permanent part of his life.
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Sean loved Rio a lot, but that didn’t change the fact that Rio had a stubborn personality and obvious snooty attitude thinking he’s top dog. Bossy and domineering, but funny nonetheless. Even if he wanted affection from Sean, his personality was more sitting in front of him like “you may pet me now”, waiting, then looking back at Sean like “why aren’t you petting me father? Begin.”
Nonetheless, Sean treated with the respect Rio expected and deserved, Rio even had his own furniture, a large textured green loveseat with its very own matching ottoman COVERED in husky fluff. Delightful. That chair stayed with Rio until his passing and he sometimes even begrudgingly shared it with us.
One behavior of his that Sean found the most funny was whenever Rio was hungry or thirsty, he’d violently paw, slide, flip, and/or fling his bowls with a loud ping! - Ping! - PING! As if to say “Hello???” - “Get me what I want” - PING!!! No matter what kind of a jerk about it Rio was, it always cracked Sean up and he’d subsequently get Rio food and/or water.
Just the beautifully mundane daily adventures of two good buddies who love each other unconditionally.
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One of his first and most favorite cars was his 1st-2nd Gen. Pontiac Firebird that I believe he got in the late 80s. He had one picture of himself with it and would sometimes look through his photos and when he’s find the one of him with his first car, he’d reminisce about that one being his favorite. It was a tiny powerhouse Hotrod.
(If I’m recalling correctly)
1
When he was in college, a buddy of his told him to join Cheer. Most of the guys scoffed and brushed it off because they considered Cheer to be “too girly” but this guy told my dad “Dude, you gotta join cheer. It’s easy! You just lift the girls up, hold them in place, and don’t let them fall. It’s that simple. You do that and they’ll like you”. Sean said that girls weren’t really into him at that time, but after hearing what his buddy said, when he explained it like that to the logic clicked into place - So, Sean joined the Cheer Team - and while the girls did end up liking him, he actually turned out to be very talented at Cheer due to his athleticism! And he ended up really enjoying being on the Cheer Team. Life has a funny way of working out like that…
Sometime with the stories he told, it felt like exactly like listening to the way “Dazed and Confused” captured that nostalgia, but for him these are his real lived experiences and core memories that contributed to his already open, fun-loving, adventurous, and sometimes carefree nature. The stories he’s told about his life are endlessly fascinating and profoundly memorable. He really did find every opportunity for joviality and lived fully.
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When he was in college, Sean and his buddies went to a frat party. While they were there, they were partying and enjoying life like any other college kids. Suddenly, they found themselves roaming around upstairs, turned a corner, and entered a random room. This was where all the booze was - I’m talking kegs upon kegs. Being young and silly, Sean and his friends decided to steal one of the kegs. The only problem? They’re on the second floor. And what did my dad say to that? “No problem”. As they began executing their escape with the keg in tow, the frat bros hosting the party caught them red-handed. The group of friends split off in all directions! Then frat bros split off to catch them! One after another getting caught and “their asses kicked” quote my dad. But where was Sean??? Where was the dude who actually had the keg??? BRO - This guy ran with the keg in hand, tossed it, and followed it jumping from the second story of the house, and somehow landing without a scratch. Unfortunately for him, one of the bigger frat dudes caught up with him and started wailing on him before he could get up off the ground, but the guy was so weak at punching and Sean was so inebriated and resilience that he just laughed through the face punches…. Ahhh… Good times
P.S. they didn’t get to keep the keg
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A funny memory of my dad from his teenage hood: One evening he and a group of his friends gathered in the garage to play with a Ouija board. The garage had a single large uncovered lightbulb on the ceiling and they wanted to make the scene extra dark and spooky. So, they went ahead and tied burlap cloth around the bare bulb, darkening the room - perfect for conjuring ghosts. Then they gathered in a circle, sitting, ready to play. The SECOND they touched that Ouija board the burlap above their heads BURST into flames, and they all bolted out of the garage! Needless to say my dad and his friends never messed with a Ouija board ever again.
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2005, Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Bay Lake, FL, USA
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Seattle, WA, USA
— with
Mike Mead,
Mary Bolaños,
Gloria (Mead) Cole
and José Bolaños
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Seattle, WA, USA
— with
Sean Muir
and Kevin Cole
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