Early last month, the popular "face" of Amaya/Astron Seating in the United States and Canada, 'Pepe' Gea, died. His colleague George Farrell, has written this remembrance.

His given name was Jose Antonio Gea Gonzalez.

But everyone knew him simply as 'Pepe.'

Pepe passed away unexpectedly on Feb. 3rd. His passing was a shock to everyone in our industry and especially to his family and personal friends who knew him best.

When anyone mentioned Amaya/Astron Seating, the first name mentioned was Pepe.

Will Rogers, the famous cowboy humorist and newspaper columnist from Oklahoma, once said: "I never met a man I didn't like." I can truly say I never met a person who didn't like Pepe. If you ever had a disagreement with Pepe, an hour later at lunch or dinner you forgot about your differences and just enjoyed his company.

Pepe was only 47 years old and had lived life to the fullest.

He was married to his wife, Pili, for 25 years. They met at age 14 and never separated. Pepe always said the only things he could give his children were love and a good education. I know for sure Pepe succeeded in both of these goals.

He has four beautiful children, Pili, 24, an industrial designer with her own design studio; Jose Antonio, 22, a communications major who is also now in charge of marketing of a home supplies company; Tais, 21, a sister with the Legionaries of Christ lives in Madrid, and Santiago, 18, is about to finish high school and is an amateur soccer player.

The first time Darrell Niswander and I saw Pepe, he was one of our seating competitors. We were at BusCon and we noticed, across the room, a man standing on an airline-style food tray, mounted on the back of an Amaya/Astron Seat. I asked, "who is that crazy Mexican?"

A year later, Darrell and I were hired by that crazy Mexican. This turned out to be a blessing, and I will always be thankful to Pepe.

Pepe never wanted to be considered a boss, but only as a member of our sales team. That was what was so special about Pepe; in my opinion, his philosophy made our company successful. Over the past 10 years, Amaya/Astron Seating became the leader in the U.S. and Canada for seat sales in new coaches.

As a team effort, Amaya/Astron Seating was awarded the Greyhound "Vendor of the Year" award in 2000.

Pepe had a hard time saying "no" to anyone. He always tried to fulfill any request no matter how big or small from the coach manufacturers and, in turn, the final coach customer.

The UMA Motorcoach Expo will never be the same without our friend Pepe. Tequila shots were given to everyone, no matter if they were customers or competitors, who stopped by our booth. It was a tradition that everyone looked forward to and really enjoyed.

Several years ago, I talked Pepe into learning the game of golf. I knew he finally had become acclimated to this demanding sport when, after hitting a bad shot, he started to swear in Spanish and finally in English. Pepe loved the game and everyone loved playing in Pepe's foursome.

I have been in this business for about 35 years, and have never met a person that had such an affect on all the people around him. Adjectives cannot do justice to this fine and compassionate human being that we have lost. I called him my younger brother.

Pepe's wife, Pili, wrote to me: "We were the luckiest family on earth for having him as a husband and father. He will live in our hearts, and we will miss him forever." Those of us who had the pleasure of working with Pepe share the familys sense of loss and will miss his warm and contagious smile and the friendship we shared.

We wish Pepe and his family peace. It is too hard to say goodbye, Pepe, so until we meet again, we want to let you know you will always be in our thoughts and prayers.

For those who knew Pepe only by name, and not personally, I hope I have conveyed his personality so you can say you knew him. He was an exceptional person and family man.

So long my friend. We will all miss you.

--- George Farrell