Remembering Joe Caggiano

 
EDITOR'S NOTE: This blog has been updated with new comments.

News of Joe Caggiano’s death on Monday has swept through the market, spreading shock and sadness.

At 48, he just seems too young to have died so suddenly. This has to be a devastating tragedy for his wife and children.
 
His career in the government market spanned 25 years, including eight years of service in the Navy. He was the chief operating officer at the Washington Management Group/FedSources, and left the company after it was purchased by Deltek. He also worked for Deloitte and Arthur Anderson at one point.

Most recently, he was a principal at Reznick Government, a business advisory firm.

I knew Joe for at least 10 years. I can’t remember when or how we first met, though it was probably through FedSources.

When I think of him, the two words that come to mind are energy and enthusiasm; he was a gregarious guy without being overbearing. Even if you didn’t agree with him, you could still talk to him, and you still wanted to talk to him.

The reactions to his death that I’ve heard have used words and phrases such as mentor, great dad, great man, and blessed to have known him.

Bill Gormley worked with Joe for 10 years at the Washington Management Group/FedSources. "As challenging as some days were, Joe ALWAYS brought his family into the discussion. His admiration for his wife and 5 children and, yes, his hunting dog was the single most important meaning to his life," Gormley wrote in an email.

He went on to talk about how Joe always took time for everyone and "looked for a positive way to accomplish what some folks would see as a threat or disaster. Joe would offer encouragement and try to mentor the world if there was enough time."

Gormley said he was a better person for having known Joe.

People often say these kinds of events bring perspective to their lives, but it is what we do with that perspective that plays a role in how we honor the ones we have lost.

I don’t yet know how I will honor Joe’s memory going forward. I know from having lost my brother in a car accident 10 years ago, leaving a wife and two young daughters, that it can take years to fully accept what happened. I gave up trying to make sense of it long ago.

Time doesn’t exactly heal, but it marches on. For Joe’s family, hopefully, the love and respect his friends and colleagues had for him will bring them some comfort in the days and weeks ahead.

Rest in peace, my friend.