Life is a River, Don’t Miss It
Hello there,
With this week’s update come a few changes. I hope you like the look of this newsletter, and find it easier to use whether you are on a computer or a mobile device. One of Palladium’s strengths has always been striking cover art and compelling text – so even though we are moving from a text heavy layout to an image heavy one, I hope you quickly find it comfortable and familiar.
Why the sudden change? Kevin and I have been wanting to revamp the production of the Weekly Update for a while, and with Chris Landauer joining our team as marketing manager we knew that now was the time to make it happen. So the change isn’t so sudden, but we did have one extra reason to make it happen this week – Kevin is out of the office.
It is with a heavy heart that I must share with you that Kevin’s beloved life partner of twenty years, Kathy, passed away Sunday morning after a heart attack. Kevin messaged me at 2am from the emergency room, and I spent a number of hours with him outside of Kathy’s room as the doctors and nurses worked to save her life. When it became obvious this wouldn’t be a short ordeal, Kevin asked me to get some rest so that at least one of the two of us could “be frosty” in case important decisions needed to be made. He also asked me to cover our interview on Sunday, which you can see linked above. After crashing on a couch at the warehouse for a couple of hours, I got the news that Kathy had passed with Kevin and her daughter at her side.
I don’t think Kathy truly understood how much she was valued and loved. Sure, for 15+ years she has worked with the Palladium crew processing daily orders and doing bookkeeping, which everyone appreciated, but Kathy was so much more than that. She was a fixture at the Open House making tasty food for VIP night and throughout the weekend, feeding hundreds of ravenous gamers. She was a great partner to Kevin and freed him up to spend many long nights and weekends creating the books so special to all of us. Even though Kathy worked from home, she would often cook extra food for the crew at the office, including Polish golumpki or pumpkin pie – all delicious. When I was sick she made me an entire pot of chicken noodle soup from scratch, and I had to insist on paying her back for the ingredients.
Naturally, all of us here at Palladium are deeply saddened at her passing. Kevin is doing about as well as can be expected, but will be out of the office for a while. We would appreciate it if you keep him in your prayers and meditations. If you would like to express your condolences with a card or other item, kindly address them to the Palladium Books office address. A potential memorial service has not yet been scheduled.
Please don’t worry about the day to day functioning of Palladium; with Wayne back in the office plus Caleb and Landauer joining our ranks, we are making adjustments and have everything under control.
Well, thanks for reading. I found this difficult to write, but I hope it is sufficient.
– Sean Owen Roberson, Writer, Designer, Adventurer
