EDWARD JOHN GOMEAU
JUNE 24,1933-March 30,2010
It was September 1998, and I was jubilant to be making my way across the desert for the last time, having found a way to escape from Las Vegas to beautiful Carlsbad, CA, with both U-Haul and an adventurous golden retriever - Simon Peter- in tow.
Ed Gomeau was recommended to me as a bookkeeper for a small business that I was forming in the San Diego area called: Interiors By Faith. He burst into my office in full military uniform on that first day, and thus began what would evolve into an 11 year business/friendship alliance.
Twice a month, Ed would find comfort in the routine of the computer in my home office, while Simon-Peter nestled happily at his feet. He was the father I lost at twenty years old, and I learned to view him with the same exasperation and fondness I had always reserved for my own dad. As the business grew he methodically kept me on track, grudgingly insisting that his job was to simply “keep me out of jail.” At tax time, as I was typically formulating yet another creative venture, Ed would routinely parade up and down my desk like an officer of the marines, to lecture me on the benefits of long-term financial securities.
Ed never missed a beat when it came to finding every penny for the business, and - as if to confirm his respect for the slipping values of today's currency - held a certain penchant for old coins. For every penny he found on the floor, he would pick it up and scratch the year for the date, urging me to keep it for leaner times. Later, when he assumed bookkeeping services for my husband Bo, he continued to faithfully keep up with every detail of our home businesses. He enjoyed played Santa Claus at Christmas, and once a month, after the grueling query of the months financial records would finally end, Ed would relax with a cup of coffee while he and Bo discussed the latest news and events over raised eyebrows for my next enthusiastic scheme.
When Simon-Peter passed away, Ed was crushed, and I let him know that of course, Simon would one day be his escort into heaven. He kept a photo of Simon on his desk at home to remind him of that promise.
On March 30th, my new bookkeeper, Cheryl, began her first day at Interiors By Faith.
It was no coincidence that Cheryl’s first days of work, marked the day America lost a great man.....Edward John Gomeau. He loved his family, his wife, his children, his grandchildren, his many friends, his Catholicism, America, and all things furry and four-legged. Though he did'nt always understand my entrepreneurial instincts, Ed supported me on every cause, buying copies of my published book, Popcorn Poppin on the Apricot Tree, and Back To The Tap filtered water bottles for every member of the family.
While consolidating Ed’s precise ledgers that day, I asked Cheryl to hand me my purse and an old penny dropped out. Cheryl, herself a long times coins collector, suggested I scratch off the date. She added that the oldest penny in her collection was from 1933. We held it up to the light of the window, and rubbed off the year: 1920. It’s a 'Penny from Heaven' I whispered to Cheryl as I handed it to her for her collection.
We will miss Ed at every Holiday, at every Padres game, and especially on every April 15th, at Tax Time. And I know in my heart, that Simon-Peter is still nestled at Eds feet while the two of them keep guard on all of us - until the day we will surely meet again.
FAITH PAULUS
Author - Popcorn Poppin on the Apricot Tree
