I learned a lot from him, about patience, perspective, and keeping your sense of humour through it all. I’ll miss him deeply, and things won’t be the same without him. I always have, and always will hold on to what he shared with me, and to the memories that make me smile when I think of him. Be at rest, old friend, dear Eli.

It is about 15 years since I last saw Eli, but I was lucky to teach him as an undergraduate, in an Honour's course, and supervise his summer research scholarship in philosophy. Eli was curious, clever, and an independent thinker. Even when he was a second-year student I was impressed with his understanding and thoughtfulness. He approached philosophy as a way of engaging with questions that matter, not just as an academic pursuit. Eli's summer project was on ethical issues that arise with informed consent in medical research. He presented his work at the New Zealand Bioethics Conference, and his presentation was thoughtful and generated interesting discussion. It was wonderful to see his skills develop as he prepared for and delivered that talk. He wasn't just intelligent, he was kind and had a wry sense of humour. He had good relationships with other students and it was great seeing him discussing his ideas with others in the philosophy tearoom. Eli was more passionate about history of philosophy than applied ethics, so he moved on to work in other areas and we lost touch. It is profoundly sad to lose someone who had so much to give. I can only imagine the grief his friends and family are experiencing. I am grateful that I had the chance to work with him and will remember him with respect for all he shared with us.