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Don Pearson
John Schmidt:
I worked for Don several years at Ultra Sound. This is very sad indeed.
Edit: I just saw the other longer thread. If a moderator wants to move these messages there for continuity, that works.
Again, 'very sad...
John
Tom Bensen:
To all our friends in Audioland,
There are no words that can describe the grief and sadness that I feel from the loss of my dearest friend, Donny. He was a true Renaissance man that embodied a spirit and zest for life and learning that remains unequalled. To me, Donny was part Ben Franklin, part Leonardo DaVinci and part Albert Einstein. A true genius, visonary and scientist applying his theories and practices into a unique combination of of art and science. His thirst for knowledge and his unbridled passion for openly sharing it serves as a benchmark for a standard to which we all should aspire. He was a mentor to many, and an icon to all.
I was so fortunate to have celebrated my 50th birthday with the good "doctor" three years ago in his home turf in San Anselmo. I will always remember that weekend and cherish the time spent.
Two summers ago, a few of us a took cruise on my sailboat, after teaching one of the most successful and best attended "Dr. Don's Sound System Optimization and Measurement" courses in a lovely theater in Patchogue, Long Island. We dubbed it "The Lobster Pot Cruise". Larry Zinn from the Letterman Show, Brad Berlin of Berlin Acoustics, Donny and I traversed the Long Island Sound for 4 days talking shop, and eating like we had not seen food in weeks. It was a great, special and wonderful time, meeting new friends in ports, swapping stories, and did I mention....eating?. All the while, Donny never stopped sharing his knowledge and wisdom.
Our lives will go on, our careers will continue, our industry will forge ahead, but it will never be the same. A part of me died on January 9th 2006 with Donny, but a part of him will always live with me.
Rest in peace, my dear friend. I love you and I miss you.
Phil Garfinkel:
Hi all,
I first met Dr. Don at the helm of the ship in Cincinnati, OH on 4/8/89, when he and Dan Healey invited me to sit at the FOH. He was friendly and in a good mood; it was a good night.
My first professional interaction with Don was at AES San Francisco in 1998 when I showed him a new microphone we were introducing. He *immediately* suggested 8 different things we could do to said product to improve it, with out even plugging it in!
Don was a man of many ideas; I had the pleasure of visiting with him several times over the last seven years, culminating with a Smaart seminar with Sam and Josh in Denver last Summer.
I had a bit of a trauma at the seminar; I clumsily knocked a can or Arizona Green Tea (mmmm sugary)into my laptop. The insulin surge to the CPU (plus the wet) gave me the delightful blue screen of death moments later. Of course, this laptop also carried all the data for my job (silly boy) and, though I did have backups, I was 1000 miles from home, etc. etc.
So, here I am, in the basement of the theatre, desperately trying to resurrect the damned thing, when Don comes down, lays his hand on my shoulder and says, "is this really how you want to spend your time? Get some distilled water and a toothbrush, take it apart tonight, carefully scrub it, let it dry, and it'll be fine in the morning. Now come on, you're missing your chance to study with Sammy and me."
Abashed, embarrassed, and hungry for knowledge, I came back upstairs to find that I had been provided with a computer to get me through.
Sure enough, I took out the HD and CD drive (and battery, carefully rinsed out the motherboard, let it dry, and it has worked fine since. It has a piece of gaff on it saying "no drinks-this means you!!!"
When I saw Don at AES last fall he remembered to ask me, among other things, how my computer was doing.
I, too, was planning to take another class with him (on 1/30, actually); this loss feels immeasurable to me.
Whether you know it or not, if you do live sound, Don Pearson has touched your life and made it better.
Damn! Rest in peace, Don...
Phil Garfinkel
www.audixusa.com
Bob Lee (QSC):
Don was truly a gentleman and a friend. We will miss him.
Ryan "Tumbleweed" Snyder:
It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. As a former employee of Ultrasound I was very fortunate to know Donny and consider him a brother and dear friend. It was Donny, Howard,Mike Brady and the rest of the Grateful Dead crew that indirectly made me choose a career path working in the live sound industry. As a follower of the dead I used to watch them work with admiration. When I became an employee of Ultrasound I once told Donny "I knew who you were long before you knew me" To say that Don Pearson was a mentor is an understatement. He was the Jedi Master of Audio. Donny touched everyone he met by sharing his immense knowledge and experience always with a smile and without hesitation. He was an inventor,teacher,innovator,husband,father,grandfather, and friend to so many. I feel extremely privileged to have known him and benefited from his wealth of knowledge. He will be missed immensely by myself and everyone in the Industry. Even if you didn't know Dr.Don you have benefited from his experience in one way or another. My condolences to the family and everyone that has shed tears in the past few days from his passing. Cheers to you Dr. Don! I will never forget you.
your brother,
Weed
P.S. tell Jerry I said hi.
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