Erika Hynes, owner of Little Type and my business partner in Monona Merch, died yesterday afternoon. I lost a business partner but I also lost one of my best friends. There's a lot I could say about her and maybe someday I will. But right now I just miss her.
Larry Livermore flew out to California to be with Erika and her husband Patrick when it became apparent that she wasn't going to make it. He was good enough to keep me appraised of the situation. When it was time for her to go he got online and read some comments from some of her pals. I was surprised she was even conscious and was holding out hope that maybe a miracle had happened and she'd gotten better. My wife knew better and I guess I did too but I wanted to believe.
Anyway, Larry couldn't say anything in front of her so most of us didn't know she was dying. But I think it was better that way because we weren't awkward at all - we were just our usual obnoxious selves, trying to out smart-ass each other for her benefit. I am very proud of us for that and extremely thankful to Larry for helping us say goodbye, especially in a way that I know she appreciated. She died less than an hour after he read our comments to her. Big thanks to Larry for letting us be with her, if only online, near the end. I can't express how much that means to me.