Mory Holmes, a close family friend died Friday at age 75. Always amiable, Mory was the type of guy I was always excited to introduce to a friend or family member. He had an eternal smile and a kind gentle way which, along with his Grizzly Adams beard and boisterous laugh made him a character you instantly wanted to know better. Getting to know him was easy to do. He lived a full life and was always ready with a story about the funeral home he ran in Sacramento, a new car that he had added to his collection or a grandkid who had dome something memorable.

Never have I known someone who was so quick to make new friends in life. He and wife Rae (who died in 1998) met Les and Mary on an Alaskan cruise nearly 18 years ago. The entire family can repeat the story from memory: Mary and Rae had the same purse and struck up a conversation, soon finding out that they lived only miles apart. The couples became fast friends, sharing dinner at each others house regularly.

For my part, Mory and Rae always made us feel like part of their family at their home where he loved to show off his “church” built entirely out of champagne bottles. (He collected them from 9 years of owning and operating Mory’s Place downtown.) Christmas dinner at the Mielcasz house will never be the same without Mory there. He has a place in nearly every family photo we took on the front lawn of Les’ house. After all, Mory was family.

I am glad to have had the pleasure to know Mory, and to have introduced him to so many of my family and friends. I will move Alaska–Mory’s favorite place to visit–up a notch on my list of future destinations, and I will share the memories I have of him for years to come.

You can read Mory’s entire obituary in the Sacramento Bee here.