Memory Eternal, Pauline Nelson

Posted by: Josh Walsh in Life.

Late last week, our dear friend Pauline Nelson passed away after a battle with cancer. Pauline was not just my client, she was my friend and a mentor to me for nearly 10 years.

Back in 2001, while a music major in college, I started doing some freelance work on the web. Pauline, an independent jeweler in the Los Angeles area, became my first client. Not only was she my first client, but she stayed with me for 9 more years until her passing last week.

Pauline taught me many life lessons:

• How to pick a good business partner;
• How to always be professional;
• Ethics matter more than money;
• Separate business life from personal life;

… and my favorite …

• How to find beautiful women to pose for photographs. (For her jewelry catalog, of course…)

Pauline is the reason that we developed Sandstone, the software framework that now powers all of our business. Our ecommerce product Simpli5 was born out of an ecommerce website we built for her years before. The tools that built Pauline’s website also built our little business.

Business aside, I had many memorable conversations with her on the phone after work. When my wife and I were married almost 3 years ago, we had Pauline design and create her wedding ring. Each time we look at the ring, we will remember the love and care that she spent creating it for us.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Pauline in person. It’s amazing to think that this woman, whom I’ve never met face-to-face, could have such an impact on the life of a young guy in Ohio.

Thank you Pauline. Memory Eternal.

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