I first met Rad in January of 2018.
I was currently living in Atlanta at the time but arrived in Jackson for a long holiday weekend of skiing with my good friend Courtney Addison. Courtney and Rad were longtime friends from growing up in Atlanta together and I had only heard the best things about Rad leading up to our trip.
Within an hour of arriving in town, we had already linked up with Rad. From the moment I met him, he felt like an old friend, one I had known for years. It was clear Rad had this effect on everyone based on the fact that we walked in and out of the village with free ski rentals all in the span of 15 minutes just by Rad walking in saying hey to everyone that worked there.
This was the photo I got about 5 minutes after walking out. This is my first memory of Rad which is so fitting. His energy was absolutely contagious. We were already excited to be back in Jackson but Rad was hyping us up even more. After our first day of skiing, Rad got our group to head out into the Elk Refuge to catch the sunset with his Canon in hand. The sunset was pure magic after a full blue bird day of skiing. Rad was snapping pictures of the group the whole time. After leaving we were looking through his pictures together and I immediately asked him to send me the one of the sun hitting the left side of the range. That is a sunset I will never forget.
I had been to Jackson Hole many times in my life but this trip was different. Rad and I bonded almost immediately. The mountains had taken my sister three years prior, which was something Rad shared his condolences and remembrance of almost immediately after meeting. I remember us having deep conversations about my sister and the accident and the power of healing Jackson provides after tragedy's like this occur. It was so comforting to talk to Rad because he was so genuine and heartfelt and I could tell he completely understood what I was feeling. We had the most incredible weekend and I knew once we left to go back home, I had gained an incredible friend. We continued to keep in touch through the next several years and every time I returned, he was always one of the first people I would call to catch up over my first drink in town.
I will never forget several summers later when we took a float down Fish Creek. Rad handled everything for the group and collected all the tubes. We were probably about half way through our float when Rad's tube popped. Out of the entire group, Rad was the only local. We all couldn't stop laughing that the only local in the group managed to pop his tube. Rad just laughed with us and continued to float the rest of the way on a completely deflated tube, basically just on his back. If you zoom in enough on the picture, you can see he basically just held on to it the rest of the way down, with a big ole smile on his face.
I only knew Rad for a small amount of time, but the effect he had on my life is difficult to put into words. Jackson is a special place. Those that know it, know the ability it has to hurt your heart while also heal it at the same time. To experience grief from a place you also cherish is difficult to overcome, but Rad helped restore the love of a place that I once felt had taken the world from me. The community in Jackson is a community of strength and I like to think Rad was one of the cores of that. Rad was kind, joyful, thoughtful, and selfless. To know him was to love him. I can't thank him enough for the joy he brought into my life and the hope and strength he gave me to keep coming back to Jackson. I could always expect a "See ya bassoon" text message or goodbye hug on my way back to the airport after a short trip to town. I like to think that Rad and my sister have met and are sharing stories about all the adventures they experienced in their favorite place they called home. The world won't be the same without him, but it's not a goodbye it's a see you bassoon.
