It is with great sadness that I post this eulogy for my dear friend and mentor of 13 years, James M. Keane. I was planning his surprise birthday luncheon on the Monday he died. He would have been 75 that Friday.

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In 1997 I moved to DC with nothing but a car, a computer, some clothes and my three dogs. It was later that summer that I became a real estate agent.

While trying to decide which company to work with, I scheduled a meeting at an obscure Century 21 office on Wisconsin Avenue. As I sat for a few moments in the waiting area, I noticed several photo albums on the coffee table and began to leaf through them. This was a harmonious group. And it was clearly evident that they liked to party.

As I thought to myself, “this could be place for me,” a very distinguished-looking gentleman emerged from his office and extended his hand. “Welcome,” he said, “I’m Jim Keane.”

As we chatted in the small conference room about what it took to be a top-producing real estate agent, I began to warm to the gentleman and I knew that his wealth of knowledge combined with his insistence on ethical conduct and his willingness to provide guidance and support would serve me well in my new career.

The clincher came two days later when I received a hand-written note from Jim thanking ME for taking MY time to meet with HIM. What a class act! When I followed him to Prudential a year later, I would have followed him anywhere.

Many of you who were in that photograph album on the coffee table are here today. We’re not as young and most of us are not as thin as we were in those photos, but the camaraderie that Jim fostered shines through as we pay homage to him today.

Thanks to Jim Keane, I have a successful career that I love as he did. I have a two-dollar bill that he would give out for correctly answering the question of the week at our sales meetings. I have fond memories of Bloomsday lunches, flaming saganaki and shots of Ouzo, after which, oddly enough, I would have to search for half an hour for my car.

I am saddened that the call I placed to him last week to invite him to lunch came too late. I mourn the loss of my real estate mentor and dear friend.

Jim, I know you are watching over us here today, probably sipping white wine with a Jamieson chaser. You taught me well. You were a constant source of encouragement. I could always come to you with a problem, be it professional or personal, and know that you would have sage advice coupled with a bit of blarney.

So, Jim, today I say not goodbye, but simply farewell, for I know that we will meet again… sometime subsequent to this.