My longtime friend and colleague Morley Pinsent died on Saturday at the age of 73.

I wrote about Morley in 2014 on the occasion of a benefit his community held for him; what I wrote then is as true now as ever:

Morley was contracted by the PEI Crafts Council to manage the ACOA-funded project that originally brought me to the Island and it’s not an exaggeration to say that if not for the good humour and good welcome he gave me and, later, in the tutoring to understand “the Island Way of Life” that Morley gave me, I might not still be here. There’s not a better man to be found on PEI.

I last saw Morley at The Noodle House in mid-November. I was having lunch with a friend and was engrossed in conversation when Morley walked in and sat at the next table. We waved hello, and I planned to chat with him on my way out. But he ate and I dawdled and I missed him. The best laid plans.

The fire extinguisher we snagged at the silent auction at that 2014 benefit stands at the ready behind our kitchen sink; I think of Morley every time I see it. Is there any better totem to remember a man whose razor wit and sharper mind could slay many a conflagration?