Although he hadn’t planned on going anywhere so soon, Douglas David Eymer, a long-time resident of Cohasset, and recently of Scituate, Massachusetts, has made his final exit. He left peacefully last Saturday.
Damn, we’re going to miss him.
Awhile back, Doug said, “I hope you remember me as someone who worked hard and loved to laugh—bringing joy to others along the way.” One way or another, he always managed to combine hard work and laughter, not necessarily in that order.
Doug had an acute—and unique—sense of humor. He had a finely-tuned sense of design. And he made the most of both gifts. At Eymer Design, he and Selene Carlo-Eymer built a highly successful business and filled the bookcases with awards. More recently, as the self-described Big Cheese of EYMER BRAND Laboratories + Think Tank, he helped businesses and non-profits of all sizes stand up and be noticed. (Doug recounts his whole fairly interesting life and work history, including his escape from Western Pennsylvania, in an article appearing in BostonVoyager.)
Tech startup? Local general store? Fortune 500 mega-company? All the same to Doug; they all got his best creative thinking. Keeping that thinking fresh, and sharing it, was his lifelong passion.
His other lifelong passion was his family—Selene, Foster and Taggart. For Doug, becoming a dad was “like walking on air.” He was incredibly proud of his sons, and he marveled at every stage of their growing up.
With fatherhood, his priorities shifted. Sure, work was important—but not as important as walking to the bus stop every morning, where he and Foster and Taggart rolled chestnuts into the street to watch the cars explode them. Or a road trip with the boys, or sailing the catboat in Little Harbor to discover a new island. He was the “volunteer dad” who drove kids everywhere, and stayed with the team all night while the other dads went out on the town. He claimed that he actually enjoyed “nearly freezing at early spring baseball games and assisting in laborious school projects.” (All of this, and more, is celebrated in Empty Nester Brand; do check it out. Whilst there, be sure to savor the wisdom of another of Doug’s several alter-egos, the venerable Scrim Shaw: “An Intellectual Blend of Twain, Hemingway and H.S. Thompson.”)
He was the baseball and soccer coach who made every player feel like an all-star. And over many years and multiple lacrosse teams, the #1 cheerleader, supporter and community builder who kept all the other parents rolling on the sidelines laughing. What some folks might see as a chore, Doug made into fun. He never wanted to be in the spotlight—except when he had a really good story—but he was always ready to step up and help.
A lover of pop culture, editor-in-chief of the Tiny Mind Gazette and regular blogger (see Still Designing), Doug was a social media junky. From the earliest days of digital technology, he was a dedicated early adopter who never threw away a SCSI, FireWire or USB cable. He read a lot—but only non-fiction. He collected typewriters, among other things. The family dogs—Bodoni, Olivetti, Helvetica, Gill Sans, and Jetty—were his “office assistants.”
Doug was not allowed to drink bourbon. (Don’t ask.) He was not allowed to do plumbing. (Also don’t ask.)
A close friend of Doug’s has described him as, “One of those people you meet whose energy, creativity and presence pull you in, and make you want to be part of his world.” But then, a close friend would say that.
Doug is survived by his wife, Selene Carlo-Eymer; his son, Foster Eymer and his wife, Bailee Eymer; and his son, Taggart Eymer and his girlfriend, Lily Kate Delaney.
Raise a glass, or whatever.
A celebration of Doug’s life will be held on Saturday, December 6th, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Cohasset Yacht Club, 99 Howard Gleason Road, Cohasset, Massachusetts 02025.
(If you’re unable to join us on Saturday, please take a minute to remember Doug, to smile, and to send love to his family.)
In lieu of flowers, gifts in Doug’s name may be made to:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dr. James Cleary’s Research Fund
P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02884-9168