Eric J. Jaworski & Matt (Sedat).Posted by Suat Koseoglu

Suat -

I can not begin to tell you how very sorry I was to hear of Matt's passing. When Andre and my old friends at Hamburg Sud called me, it broke my heart to hear the news. I want you to know how I will always remember him.

As Matt may have told you, he an I worked at Hanjin together for over a year, until I moved on to a better opportunity with Hamburg Sud. When we had an opening in our operation department at HSD, I immediately thought of Matt and contacted him with the good news. A few weeks later, we were sitting across from each other for what would be three years at HSD. In that time I learned allot about Matt and also allot from him.
I quickly learned from him how devoted he was to his wife and children. There was never a day that passed, where Matt wasn't talking about Okan and Onur. In fact over time that same sentiment rubbed off on me when my son Justin and daughter Olivia were born.
I also remember Matt sharing pictures and stories about his vacations to Turkey. He would always return from Turkey with a small gift for the guys in the group. Like for instance the "Seeing Eye" key chain which I still have to this day.
Matt always kept things "interesting." For instance, I will always remember how particular he was when he went out to lunch with us and ordered from the menu. Let's just say there were many a restaurant and many a waitress who probably needed therapy after all of the changes that Matt would make to his order before it being served! We would always have a good chuckle about it.
Matt also loved to keep me on my toes as well. He treated me like a little brother by always teasing me about what I ate for lunch, or my clothes that I wore for the day, or my stories about my wife and family. On the outside I would of course get frustrated and mad, but he always kept me laughing within. I knew he wouldn't spend the time joking with me if he didn't respect and appreciate me. No matter what happened, if Matt and I got into a disagreement, we could always take some private time away from the group to talk about it and settle our differences. We always returned back to our desks as friends. For this I hold the deepest respect for him as not all people you work with can do this! I used to always joke with Matt that he "loved to stir things up in the group!"
Matt's love for soccer was always apparent whenever the World Cup would start. He was always talking about the games he played on the weekends with his friends in Paterson. And in some cases always tried to get me to play too. I also remember Matt playing soccer with Okan at a barbecue that we both attended way back when. At that time, my wife (and Ozlem too) were pregnant. My wife with my first, and Ozlem with Onur and I couldn't wait to do the same as Matt! Playing with my son on a nice weekend afternoon.

My only regret, was that a year and a half ago, I chose a new path for my career and I had to leave Hamburg Sud. I deeply regret that during the year and half that has elapsed, that I didn't stay in better communication with him. We both had advanced in our careers, and I guess we got wrapped up to the point where we didn't have much time to keep in touch.

I will deeply miss my friend. It was an honor to have shared the time that I did with him.

I know for sure that his spirit and personality will live on through his sons Okan and Onur and the world is lucky to have that. My wife and I will keep Ozlem, Okan, Onur, and your family in our prayers. We hope that you will have Matt's strength in this very difficult time.

Pls let me know if there is anything we can do to help.

Thanks and Best Regards-
Eric J. Jaworski
Trade Manager Intra-America Service RoRo Division
NYK Line (North America) Inc.
office: 201-553-3741
cell: 201-314-2348
email: eric.jaworski@na.nykline.com