Denis

I first met Sequoia in Mr. Hammer’s German class at Aptos Jr High. I was a shy scrawny awkward geek and he was a handsome boisterous dude that was popular with the ladies. He outwardly represented everything I could not see in myself and was intimidated by him.

In High School, his last name started with ‘Ev’ and mine started with ‘Ey’ so we were supposed to share a locker. In my own insecurity I decided to not even use the locker.

Sequoia was my first and most lasting lesson in not judging a book by its cover. We had German again in High School in Frau Sargent’s class. He was accepting, hilarious and we quickly became friends. I joined his gaming group with several other friends that I still play D&D with today.

He was always handsome, popular and boisterous. He was also kind, generous, hilarious, supportive and a loyal friend. We have been on many “adventures” together especially in our youth. I will cherish those.