We'll Miss You, Brother
We lost a member of the ListingWare family yesterday. My good friend Craig Parana passed away late yesterday after battling a brain tumor for more than 2 years. Craig had worked with ListingWare for many years - he was there on Day 1 when we officially launched to the world. Many ListingWare customers had heard about what he'd been going through, so we wanted to let you know.
On the personal side, I'd known Craig since I got out of the Army in 1995. We worked together at my first full-time gig. Then, I roped him into the Clever/Interliant startup, followed by roping him into ListingWare. I say "roping in", but he came willingly. He always wanted to do something new and different, even if outwardly he sounded like he was throwing on the brakes!
He was the Best Man for me and Max, my lovely Wife/Business Partner, when we got married 10 years ago. It was the second marriage for both of us, so what more fitting time and place to get married than April Fools Day at The Bay Hill Club in Orlando? And he was there for us.
Craig, Max and I traveled together often, playing golf badly in many beautiful places. We loved no place more than the Dominican Republic, where Max introduced him to Melissa, the wonderful woman who became Craig's wife in January 2008. Craig had moved down to the DR several months prior to their wedding, and was still working for ListingWare! All he needed was high-speed Internet and Skype to do support, so we made it happen! Of course, we had to be at their wedding, as well!
Only two weeks after their wedding, Craig had his first seizure. The brain tumor was discovered then, and he and Melissa came back to the U.S. to get him the best care possible. But even after more than two years of fighting, it finally got him yesterday.
The one thing that I'm happy about at the end is that Craig and Melissa didn't just let him wither away in the dark. There is a family event this weekend in Georgia, and they decided to drive from Ohio for it because THEY wanted to. THEY made a decision to go to a place and be with people that they loved and made them happy. EVERYONE should do that today: go somewhere and be with folks and be happy and loved. I'll miss you, Brother.
Happier times: getting ready to play some bad golf in Vegas...
More bad golf: Craig, Bob, Melissa, and Max in DR
sweet Craig... my brother's "brother from another mother"...was always the light in the room! If you were ailing, he'd make you smile! He will be truly missed... we love you Craig!