Happy Birthday, RJ!

Friends,

Today marks our beloved RJ’s 28th birthday. 

As we reflect on the many memories of our friend, it’s easy to see how RJ's influence is felt in our lives to this day. 

Earlier in January, some of us (Dilain, Josh, Rish, and Ryan) got together to play a round of golf after a long while.

We found ourselves at Corica Park Golf Course in Alameda – a deviation from our typical choice of Tilden in our college days. Immediately, the day had RJ written all over it. For one, we first learned of Corica because it is RJ’s hometown course that he brought us to. But then again, many of us became obsessed with golf itself through an introduction by RJ.

For much of 2020, we made countless outings to Tilden, Monarch Bay, and Corica. Beers were cracked, golf balls were whacked, and pockets were ransacked, as RJ’s wagers were never beaten... even with some charity handicaps provided.

Our golfing memories with RJ date back to a hot March day in 2018 during spring break. RJ had taken Rish, Dilain, and Ryan out to Tilden for the first time, and we were all excited to play our first round together. RJ was in big brother mode, ready to show us the ropes at the challenging course. 

We made it alllll the way to the fairway of hole 1 before Dilain and Ryan got kicked off the course for splitting clubs with RJ and Rish. We swear RJ said it was fine!

The look of defeat on Dilain and Ryan’s faces as Rish and RJ drove off to finish the round did not come close to the look of defeat the four of us had when we missed our flight to Cabo the next morning. But that’s a story for another time!

Fast forward to January 2026... where even without our beloved brother, four people who joined the fraternity because of him had joined together at a course he showed us to play a sport that we grew to love just as much as he did.

We laughed, drank Sierra Nevadas, and played some damn good golf until the sun set.

Just as he would have wanted.

Happy Birthday, RJ.

We miss you.

With Love,

Friends of RJ