Tony Crabb, Friend

Good afternoon.  My name is Tony Crabb, I have lived in Sonoma County with my wife Barbara for almost 20 years, and have known Paul for most of that time.  Probably far less than most of you here, but in that time, I have grown to know Paul as a good man and good friend.

Michelle asked me to say a few words about my friend, his character, his passions and his interests from the time I have known and worked with him.  That is a long list, but I think it comes down to family; helping others in need in so many different ways; politics; education, space and perhaps - his vintage Aston Martin.

We initially met through our involvement in local politics and then during the fight for the right of same sex couples to marry, and opposition to California Proposition 8 as it was known.  That became the basis for our ongoing political efforts at the state and federal level where his passion for politics was front and center.  Because of his efforts for Mesothelioma victims Paul was on first name terms with many in Washington.

We had much in common as we were both engineers and worked in a variety of manufacturing related jobs over our careers, so that was always a topic of conversation whenever we met for coffee, or lunch. 

Paul’s favorite lunch spot was the Tudor Rose English Tea Room in Santa Rosa.  He would order a Guinness and Steak and Kidney pie, in his words - “to give me strength” and finish with a scone and clotted cream, “just because”.

The other topics in most of our conversations were about space, politics and our involvement in the Career Technical Education Foundation, where we both served on the board and where he was instrumental in helping set up some the basic operating processes.  He also served as Treasurer until recently when the disease caused him to step down from that role. 

He had the uncanny knack of reviewing our financials and within seconds zoning in on the one number in a financial report that might be wrong. 

I’m not sure the staff viewed that as a blessing or a curse! 

But he always kept us on the right financial track.  That was almost a full-time job as we were growing so fast and I think gave him a sense of purpose when the disease was getting worse.

Paul was fascinated in space, probably from his time as an engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and he had signed up for one of the early sub-orbital flights with XCOR’s Lynx space place.  I think one of the best pictures I ever saw of Paul was him sitting in the flight simulator with Harry van Hulten, director of flight testing. He was beaming.  It was a sad day for Paul when the disease had progressed to the point where he could no longer pass the physical necessary to fly as a passenger in one of the early flights.  But he continued to stay in touch with progress and enjoyed the experience in the flight simulator.

You know better than I do his love of family so I won’t dwell on that.  For me the thing that stands out about Paul was his desire to help others, his courage and his grace.

In October of 2017 as we woke early one morning to the smell of smoke in the air and finding out that large portions of Sonoma County were on fire due to what became known as the Tubbs Fire.  We received a call from Paul saying they were evacuating and could they come stay with us.  A short time later Paul and Michelle arrived and I saw them walking up the driveway carrying one small bag each.  We then found out that those small bags and the car they arrived in was all that was left of all they owned, the house, the contents and the other car and Paul’s prized vintage Aston Martin were all gone. 

They settled in with us, and many other evacuees during the fire and it was a testament to Paul and Michelle’s fortitude and courage that it wasn’t long before they were making plans to find a temporary place to live and start rebuilding.

It didn’t take long before finding a replacement for his Aston Martin became part of the conversation and true to form, he found one and had it restored.

Paul passed away after loosing a long battle with mesothelioma a cancer caused by asbestos.  He fought this terrible disease for a long time and at the same time fighting for the rights of other victims of this disease to get compensation with a long-term passionate personal lobbying effort that took many trips to Washington and developing relationships with legislators.

He fought this battle with dignity, never giving up hope and tackling every set back, and there were many, with courage and a positive attitude that I truly admired.

In the last couple of years Paul also spent some time and effort to write a book capturing what he had learned in his career and about management and how courage was a key element in success.

Are you noticing a theme here?  Paul and courage seem to go together.

The book is called; Management Lessons from Oz; Leading from Courage.

I think it is appropriate for me to end with a quote from Paul.  The dedication that Paul wrote for the book really captures who Paul was and what was important to him.  I don’t think he might have considered I would use it in this way, but it does seem so appropriate.

So, in Paul’s own words: -

“This book is dedicated to my wife, Michelle.  She has been my partner in life, co-conspirator, cheerleader, patient coach, and sometime, caregiver.  She has shared my yellow Brick Road, and I hers.  Sometimes she has needed my help climbing the hills, but most often I have needed hers.  Mostly, she has been very tolerant and forbearing of my foibles, and I could not have reached this point without her.”

Thank you for being here today.  Of Paul, I can only say this; - he was my friend and he will be missed.