Love from: Josh Gotbaum

My first memory of meeting Lauren Walters was wondering if everyone in Washington DC was smarter & more accomplished than I could hope to be.  I was working as an analyst in the Department of Energy and a colleague, Tom Geoghegan, introduced us.  Tom explained to me that Lauren had graduated college at an age when most of us hadn’t yet chosen our major and that he’d already held several positions in the US Senate, including being one of the first staff members of the Senate Budget Committee.  Lauren, as is his style, never mentioned any of those accomplishments – which simultaneously made him even more terrifying, but easier to be his friend. 

 Lauren’s quiet confidence and bubbly optimism led him onto many different stages: to the Senate, to venture investing, to consulting for a group of “dance therapists” that included Karen, to various real estate acquisitions (in all of which I’ve been a guest at one time or another), to the Concord school board, to Two Degrees, and always giving wise advice to family, friends, non-profits, and businesses.  I credit my own diverse, though much less diverse, career in important part to watching Lauren and wondering if I, too, could “pull that off”. 

As Lauren became a husband and then a father, I again took notes for when I would follow in his footsteps.  When life dealt Karen some terrifying cards, Lauren stepped up in a way that I hope I never have to emulate, but would aspire to if I do.  Ed lived in DC for a time, so Joyce & I got a chance up close to see that Lauren and Karen have been able to pass on much of what makes them so special. 

Lauren also taught me much about being a friend, that friendships are best maintained by contact, not just warm thoughts & memories.  Long before Facebook & Instagram, he kept in touch even when we were separated by the entire US or, for a while, the Pacific Ocean. 

Just before Lauren & Karen’s wedding, we were discussing to what song they should do their first dance.  I suggested “Our Love is Here to Stay”, which they accepted.  It turned out to be entirely fitting for their marriage.  But it also applies, my friend of many decades, to our friendship as well. 

Happy birthday, Lauren.  May we celebrate many, many more. 

With high regard and much much love,

Josh