Good Friends We've Lost Along the Way

Be still sad heart and cease repining; Behind the clouds the sun is shining, Thy fate is the common fate of all, Into each life a little rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary. ~ Longfellow

In the deeply personal side of the beer industry, a few notable losses occurred this year. This is not meant to be a complete list, so if I've overlooked someone please feel free to contribute via the comments section below.

In January, the former CEO of the Beer Institute, Jeff Becker, passed away after a tough battle with cancer. In his role, he served as a strong industry voice for legislative change and is represented nicely in a 2007 interview with Andy Couch. Posthumous tributes can be found at Lew Bryson's blog and Crouch's as well.

William ("Billy") Pflaumer, former owner of the legendary Schmidt Brewery, passed away of heart failure in late May. The link I had to the Philly.com site no longer works, but I tracked down a lengthier review of his life and his work at the brewery at the New York Times.

At the end of November, the Philadelphia beer and restaurant community was dealt a major loss when we all learned of Bruce Nichols' passing after a short bout with Leukemia at the age of 62. His contributions to Philadelphia's food and beverage landscape were remarkable and most recently were recognizable to many through his role as a co-founder of Philly Beer Week. Much more can be read, and seen through pictures, courtesy of: ~ Carolyn Smagalski ~ Jack Curtin, via Beer Yard ~ Tom Peters, close friend and co-founder Philly Beer Week, at Monk's Café (text of Tom's memorial was copied/saved here at The Brew Lounge) ~ Jay Brooks ~ Philly.com

Good friends we have, oh, good friends we've lost---Along the Way---So Dry your tears I say ~ Bob Marley