Liam > Cheese > Ska

I was lucky enough to meet Liam for the first time almost 7 years ago when he came to work for me at Alon's Bakery in the Highlands.  He was the youngest member of my staff at the Cheese counter, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have my concerns having been a young man myself once upon a time.  In his first month there he called in sick on a weekend...to go play at a ska show.  As this wasn't entirely unexpected, we moved forward with the regular admonitions that comprise faux sickness and continued upon our merry way. Then it happened again.  

Looking back, at that time I never would have expected such a radical change in demeanor and focus. Fast forward from adventures in retailing farmstead cheese a few years to a sunnier locale where a few farmers are trying to setup some tents and find an outlet to plug in a few power-cords in front of an Ace Hardware on a hot Thursday, and there's Liam making his way up hill with a cart heavily laden with supplies.  His long, brown hair pulled back and secured beneath a bandana to reveal a grin the size of a mailbox, he's breaking a sweat before I've even gotten started unloading my truck. He'd quit the band, he was tearing up the course work in school, and he was ready to change your life.

Like a cyclone with a purpose, Liam would sweep people up and leave smiles in his wake. He was driven, and you couldn't help but feel the same determination when he got to talking about everything he'd just gotten his hands into this week.  Simply listening to him tell me about his long bike ride over from the University to be in EAV for the market would make me want to go purchase, and then ride a bike.  A simple  "Have you seen these raised garden beds? They blah blah blah blah..." would leave you wanting for $50 in wood & nails and a day off to make it work.  The market always seemed a little bit gloomier on the days that Liam wasn't around as I always looked forward to our conversations during setup. Whether it was about chili cook-offs, sustainability, or something entirely unrelated, it was always engaging.

If you were to ask me 3 years ago to name a friend or aquaintance under the age of 40 that I thought most likely to succeed in their endeavors, I would have said Liam Rattray. I'd say the same today. He had more to give than anyone else I knew, and whether you shared his visions in part or in entirety, hubris aside, Liam is quite possibly the most valuable soul I've met in my entire working life. I'm not just saying it because it's appropriate in this time and place. I'm saying this because it's the truth, a simple fact of the matter. The world lost someone who truly made a difference.  Please don't let it end there.

-christopher gillespie