Alex Cartlidge
I first met Dee around 7 years ago when my brother-in-law, Zack, invited me to join a bowling league at Bel Mateo. I was actually a little nervous about playing; I was new to the country, the culture and I had never bowled much before. Dee was one person at the bowling alley that welcomed me with open arms. He showed a genuine interest in my background and always asked how me and my family were doing. I really appreciated him for that and we became good friends over the years and we ended up bowling on the same team for the last few seasons.
Dee loved to trash talk at bowling, even to people on his own team! However, that was usually justifiable in my own case and I’ll miss hearing him loudly proclaiming when I bowl my next bad ball. With Dee this was a sign of his affection and he was a truly kind and loyal soul. He was always generous at social gatherings; bringing good food and even better whiskey. I was honoured that he came to Vegas in 2022 to celebrate my 40th birthday and I will miss him greatly.
We did butt heads at times, especially around the poker table where he always seemed to hit the most ridiculous of “outs” to beat me. However, on the rare occasions he lost he was always the first to settle his debts, a sign of his deep integrity.
We also shared a similar interest in music and my most treasured memory of Dee was attending a Coldplay concert (his favourite band) at Levi’s stadium in May 2022 with him and my wife. He enjoyed that evening so much and we’d often talk about it. I’m sad we won’t be able to share that experience again at Stanford later this year but I know that if I go and look up into the night there is now a new light shining down on us all in that “Sky Full of Stars”.
Rest well Dee!
Al Cartlidge