Adam Wilson was someone I had come to call a friend. Over the last 8 months, we got to know each other quite well through interactions on the Phantom Owner Group on Facebook and OCN, and through chatting almost every single day within that time. We talked of music, technology, video games, and things we had in common, or not. Adam's nick on OCN was Erakith.
Every morning I woke up, he was already messaging me on Facebook, even just to say hello. It's something that I've come to miss in the days since his passing. Everytime I reach for my mouse to wake up the computer, I'm instantly reminded that his messages will no longer be there.
I came to know some things about Adam, things that you don't find in a lot of people, especially at his age. He was extraordinary in his love of his wife and family, often telling me about something one of his children said or did. He'd share about how he met his wife, and how he left Europe to be with her in Michigan. Never once did I hear from him any frustration regarding his family. Adam loved them, through and through. The only time he ever spoke of them was with excitement and passion. His family was everything to him, and I came to admire this about him.
His love of PCs and technology brought him into a reviewer's spot at ThinkComputers, a technology review site. Often he'd share videos with me, or asked me to proofread something he'd written. We'd banter back and forth about his new reviews and I encouraged him to be himself while doing reviews. He took it seriously and went above and beyond, because Adam wanted to be the best. Not just the best reviewer, but the best friend, the best husband, and best father that he could be. That's who Adam was. He devoted himself.
It was Saturday that I learned he had been taken to the ICU, and Monday when I learned of his passing. And although I never was able to buy him that beer I said I would, and I never met him in real life, we had shared a great deal with each other. Adam was a man you could trust. A confidant, a friend. In the end, I think anyone who had the opportunity to know Adam, learned some things, and became a better person because of him. He always put his best foot forward and regardless of how bad a situation was, he was able to shrug it off and joke about it.
It is with deep sadness and regret, that I have to say, that Adam will be missed by many. He was taken from his family, and his friends far too early. Adam was just weeks away from turning 25.
To Adam, from all of your friends here at OCN and abroad, we will miss you. May you be at peace.
