Dear Jan,

While this note isn’t the way I usually communicate my sentiments upon the death of a close friend, it seems appropriate as Tim, you and I have spent a good part of our time “together” using this method. Also, while his life is still fresh in my mind, I want to offer a few observations about him since we worked closely with one another for more than six months on my book, The Board.

1. Without Tim, I never would have finished the book and, to the extent it has received positive reviews, much of the credit for those reviews goes to him.
2. Tim had a wonderful mind: creative, incisive, thorough and, at the right times, challenging.
3. He had a twinkle in his eye and behind that twinkle was a world class sense of humor: warm, new and pleasantly different.
4. His knowledge and understanding of the political scene was incredibly good. In that regard, I was anxious to talk to him about what he thought would happen next here in the Golden State. I am sure that Arnold is going to need a press relations person and Tim would have been perfect. I don’t think their politics would have meshed too well, however.
5. Tim’s writing skills were superb. He had a way of taking complex material and untwisting it so that a reader could easily absorb the complexities without much effort. (In this regard and in connection with other traits listed above, it helps to be brilliant.)
6. As we both know, he had an incredible broad range of interests. I was looking forward to sharing some new wine with him but, instead, I’ll toast him with it.
7. Most importantly, Tim was a caring person. He cared about people and their concerns. I certainly benefited from that quality in so many ways.

To say that he will be missed is a gross understatement. To say that he made a huge contribution to others is an even larger understatement. Obviously, if I can be of assistance, please do not hesitate to call upon me or JoAnne Hooper.

Sincerely,
Jim Ukropina