Ilmo was really special.

Ilmo was one of my best friends and the closest thing in the world I had to a brother. I can’t count even count on two hands the number of life milestones we’ve all shared together over all of these years.

Ilmo and I first met and became friends while we were part of the Haas Scholars program at the University of California, Berkeley. (If you want a good laugh, I think the website is still up and you should check out what our hair cuts looked like back then).

The first time I ever spoke to him, I thought: “Wow, I wish I could be just like him.” And I’m still trying to be like him. Ilmo was, without any exaggeration whatsoever, one of the kindest, funniest, most creative, and most inspiring people I have ever met anywhere in the world.

Reading everyone’s stories about him right now warms my heart. He was generous to everyone he met, and was always thinking about how to help others accomplish what they cared about, and become better versions of themselves. All that he ever asked in return? “Pay it forward.” Be kind. Help when you can.

Ilmo was a wonderful, one of a kind friend. He was the kind of friend that made you feel better after visiting with him. He had a story or a joke for every situation imaginable. He had a warmth and a center of gravity that drew others to him. I marvel that a heart that big could fit in one person.

Ilmo was a Renaissance Man. He researched on how to make the world a kinder, more understanding place. He was a genius, and used his wonderful mind to tackle cutting edge research. He was a gifted teacher and could perform magic with how he brought topics to life and made them relevant and important in a class, a chat over lunch, and just about anywhere. He was a creative soul who wrote songs, and books, and tinkered at the very fabric of everyday life in expected and delightful ways.

He and I had shared the same kind of geeky interests and sense of humor. But it was about much, much more than that. Ilmo could have done basically anything he dreamt of with all of his talents, and he chose to make the world better and help those in it.

I know using a quote might sound cheesy, but I 100% believe this to be true: 
“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”

Ilmo created worlds in others.

I’m eternally grateful to have had the good luck to have shared over half a lifetime’s friendship with Ilmo.

I will really, really miss you Ilmo. I will never forget you and everything wonderful about you.

Tyler Shores