Andre Desjardins: Reflections on the Passing of a Friend

I lost a friend to cancer recently. That is always a difficult thing to accept, especially when, as in this case, the friend was still relatively young and full of energy and passion for life. But I take consolation from knowing that he lived life fully, that he had a great impact on a great many people and that I was blessed to be one of those people.

His name was Andre Desjardins, and he was the president of Patterson Dental Canada. I had known him as a business acquaintance for some time, but earlier this year I got to spend a lot of time with him and really get to know the man behind the title. I was invited to join him on a trip to various branch offices across Canada, to help spread the word within the company about the future of digital dentistry. We had many conversations in many airports and hotel lounges and the more we talked, the more I came to recognize how incredibly driven this man was.

Andre Desjardins - A Man of Purpose and Devotion

A lot of people say they are passionate about what they do; Andre Desjardins really demonstrated his devotion to his purpose every day. For one thing, there he was getting out and meeting as many people in the organization as he could to get them energized. I could tell that the experience energized him too. After all, this was a man who started his own supply company many years ago.

He then sold it to Patterson, but not because he wanted to cash out and walk away. He became president of the company and he insisted on keeping in touch at a grassroots level. No matter how successful he became, he remained motivated by the purest intentions: bringing the best possible success to his team, the company's clients, and the patients they treated. For instance, he was instrumental in introducing CEREC to North America, beginning with CEREC 1, and he was as an enthusiastic a champion of digital dentistry as you will find anywhere.

He was even inspiring in the face of grave illness. As he continued to pursue his hobbies of hunting and fishing as long as he could, and even in the final stages of his illness, he was asking for the numbers from the various branch offices. He was determined to keep his passions alive as long as he had life in him.

At the memorial service for Andre, the CEO of Patterson Companies, Scott Anderson, shared a letter from one of Andre's colleagues that said, in effect, that anyone who was touched by him will never forget him—that he leaves a mark on your life. I certainly found that to be true. As I watched the photos of Andre slide by on the screen overhead, it was as if I could feel his presence and hear his voice again. It's hard for me to accept that he is really gone.

Maybe that's because he isn't, really. Andre Desjardins will always live on in the hearts and minds of those of us who had the honor of knowing him and being inspired by him. And the lesson for all of us is to try to follow his example. After all, as the saying goes, you can't take anything with you. But if you really love what you do, and are generous in spirit, you can leave something important behind: a legacy that lives on beyond your years on this earth. In that way, we can each make our mark.