I first met James Mayfield towards the end of 1999, during the final weeks of my first programming stint at Prudential. He and I became good friends. I found him to be a straightforward, friendly, helpful and kind person. I maintained contact with him even after I left Prudential. It so happened that I went back there in 2002, for another consulting gig with the same group. He had become an employee and was well established at Pru. We reconnected as if we were never away. Marcel, James, Yin-Hong and I were regular lunch partners. He was affected by his layoff at Pru in 2003. He tried switching careers. I tried to help him as much as I could at that time. I heard from Marcel that he moved to NC to start a new career.
About 4-5 months back, I heard from Marcel that James had been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. It was devastating. My wife told me that given the description and the details, James had no more than six months. I thought of traveling to NC to see him. But I did not know what I would say to him, and in what shape I would see him. I talked with Marcel and Yin-Hong. We all were very saddened by the news.
Two weeks ago, I felt there was something wrong - we had not had an update from him/his family in a while. I urged Marcel to call. In two days, we got a call back. James had passed away the previous day. I did not know how to react when I heard the news. He was just 41. He had two small kids. Thinking about all that made me very uneasy. All the Pru memories started coming back to my mind. We had so much fun there and he was very much a part of all of it. I had not kept in touch with him over the last four years, but I suddenly missed him - badly. Now I really am short of words to express how exactly I feel about the loss.
James Mayfield - may your soul rest in peace. You were a good man. I am honored to have known you.
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