There’s no question that Larry Rasky had one of the biggest hearts on the planet. From the day we had the privilege of meeting him, we knew that we were in the presence of someone not just special, but simply extraordinary. He was generous to a fault, thoughtful without thinking about it, passionate about the causes he cared deeply about. What a model of a human being.

Our daughter Becca fell in love with Will (and vice versa) and suddenly we were immediately part of the Rasky-Eckel clan. Larry in particular made us part of his family. Almost from the start, whenever we saw him it felt as if we were catching up with an old friend. His love of the Grateful Dead was infectious. His love of baseball—same.

Talking about politics with Larry was always inspiring. Whether we agreed or disagreed about this or that candidate, Larry was extremely wise and knowledgeable, always in his low-key way. No surprise that virtually every Democratic politician past and present saluted him in these past few weeks.

Larry loved telling a good story, but it was never about impressing anyone; he just dearly loved laughing with all of us. In fact some of the stories he loved the best were the ones where he –how shall we say?–learned from mistakes.

When we were planning for Becca and Will’s joyous wedding, he was all about making sure it was one of the most special, memorable, and personal events of all of our lives. And it was . . .

Becca simply adored Larry. And we’ve never seen a father-son relationship quite like Will’s and Larry’s. It was mutual adoration AND admiration. And of course his love for Carolyn (and vice versa) was apparent to absolutely everyone who encountered them.

Losing Larry so suddenly was a gut punch. For as long as we live, we will never forget that moment when Becca texted us. We were shattered. Our hearts break for her, as well as for Will and Carolyn. We have all lost a force of nature and a wonderful human being.

—Judi Freeman and Tony Rudié