It was an honor to know you Charlie

This morning was shocking. For work every morning I do a scan of news related to research, economic development, entrepreneurship and innovation. One of the scans I do is for ASU. I was not expecting to see this:

"Very sad news for those of us who do physical anthropology. Charles ("Charlie") Lockwood (University College London) was killed today in a motorcycle accident in London. He is survived by his parents and sisters.

Charlie was a good guy. He left the Valley/ASU shortly after President Crow took over ASU. Most of it was the opportunity he had at a UCL and his research in South Africa, with some displeasure over the Crow's approach when he got to ASU. Charlie started playing Ultimate at about the same time as Joanne (summer 2000). We played on local men's teams together. I provided an email address to him of critical importance even though that person whose email address it was was standing right there.We didn't keep in close touch after he moved, but we met up with him when we went to Europe in September 2006. We had dinner at an Indian place in Kensington that was in the neighborhood of where I stayed during a summer program in June 1996. The picture above is from that evening.

The two things I'll remember most about Charlie: first, off field, he was one of the most thoughtful people I have known. What he said and what he did gave the impression of having a reason or logical rationale that wasn't an after the fact rationalization. To get his input or thoughts on anything, you got the sense and confidence he knew what he was talking about. The second, on the field, of people I've played with, he's in the top 2 or 3 people that played with the most heart. He wasn't an amazing athlete, but he always gave his full effort. He wasn't afraid to take the other team's best player, even if that guy was 8 years younger, a couple of inches taller, been playing a lot longer (Charlie started playing in his early 30s). And you know what? He didn't lose that one-on-one matchup. My vision of Charlie on the field isn't really in getting the D, but being in a position that if the other guy let up even one bit, he would get it.

An "In Memoriam" page is up at Anthropology.net