Eleven years ago today, my best friend of 22 years passed away of melanoma after a noble fight. He was an incredible guy with a passion for living life fully. My last memory of him alive was spoon feeding him in his hospice hospital room. He couldn’t even lift his own hand and 32 tumors filled his brain. That’s the bad part.

There are good parts too:

- I had 22 years to know him, laugh with him, and get in all types of trouble with him.

- I was honored to serve as best man in his wedding and he in mine.

- We had many snow ski adventures together in Colorado.

- We taught each other lots of water skiing tricks and had many of sunset runs on glassy water  in a quiet cove (see my post playing catchup) .

-  I learned to see the good in bad situations. He was a constant reminder of that.

- I learned about being a good father, a good friend, and how faith heals (though sometimes not as we want).

- I’ve played a role in helping start a melanoma foundation in his memory. To date our foundation has raised almost $500,000. This money is used to help people who can’t afford treatment and to educate people on the danger of over exposure to the sun.

- His family and I have stayed in close contact and recognize both his death anniversary and birthday each year.

- I have had the great pleasure to share part of his story in my keynote speaking all across North America.

Maybe, just maybe, by telling his story, I have inspired someone to change something in their life or to connect in a deeper way with someone they love. I really hope so.

A few years before my grandfather’s death, I made a list of questions that I wanted to ask him - questions about his youth, his family, how he lived, his early career and marriage, and his experiences in World War II. On a visit one Christmas, I recorded hours of him talking about these things as I asked him questions. I loved listening to his stories particularly the ones that made him laugh.

Recently, when my parents were in town, we listened to one of the tapes I had made many years ago. We listened as grandpa Richardson talked about his experiences as a Navy chaplain. While there were many aspects of being a chaplain that he found interesting, there were mundane tasks as well. To liven up his day, he would sometimes go out on the PT boats near where he was stationed. One day, he was listening to a young sailor who had come to see him. The sailor lamented about how much he missed his girl back home. He went on and on as my grandfather checked his watch hoping the young man would finish before the boat left to search for enemy destroyers. As soon as the young sailor left, my grandfather ran down to the dock and watched as the PT boat left the dock. He had missed it by just a few moments. That boat never returned. He later learned that it hit a mine and all on board were killed.

I can’t imagine how my life would have been if my grandfather had been on that boat. I spent a lot of time with him growing up and he influenced me in many positive ways. Grandpa was a great joke and story teller and someone who loved his family dearly. He was one of the most amazing, humble, kind, and loving men I have ever known.

Today, I am particularly grateful for the many people who, like my grandfather, served or are serving our country. It’s always sad to hear the news of a soldier who sacrificed his life in defending freedom. So many will never make it to 90 years as my grandfather almost did. Thankfully, I have stories that I can listen to and pass on to future generations in my family. That’s what today is about … remembering and being grateful to people like my grandpa who made life for others better because they served.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies. He is founder of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go towww.TimRichardson.com