For 21 years, Don Riddell and I worked together as Vistage Chairs in the Los Angeles area. We also took 5 international trips together with the Wow Travel Group with our spouses and other friends and family. When he retired last December, he had his replacement Chair ready to take over and was off to lots of travel, golf and fun.
When I saw him last month at the Keepers of the Flame for 10 year+ Vistage Chairs, he was full of fun and filled me in on what he had been doing 6 months into retirement. He led one of our break out sessions as it happens, on uncomfortable change. Then he caught ill on the plane home, and now he is gone.
I’m stunned. Most people who knew him probably are, too. And, very sad. Don lived every day to the fullest. I doubt he had any regrets other than that he didn’t get 20 more years.
The picture is from Patagonia, Chile, trekking on a glacier. My husband Paul took it. From left: me, my brother Joe, Don, his wife Sharon Valdez, and his Vistage member Tim Neufeld. I could have pulled up a picture from Myanmar, or Africa, or Croatia, Vietnam, Turkey or Greece. Don always had a calm smile on his face and a few words of wisdom at the ready.
Fare thee well fellow traveler! You lived your mission: “Making an IMPACT in the World by being a Catalyst for Learning, Growth and Change.”
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