Just heard that Karl just passed away from a rapidly developing cancer. Karl was a real character around the puzzle palace but was a classic salesman and truly caring gentleman. His legendary explosions around the office only to be followed by his totally forgetting about it and moving on were commonplace and often hysterical. But anyone who got to know Karl was well aware of his self-deprecating humor and genuine care for everyone. I can't tell you how many times he reached into his pocket to reimburse reps when they thought they were shortchanged. I remember once questioning an expense that was rejected and receiving a letter in the mail with old wrinkled cash. He never admitted sending it but it was obvious. Karl grew up poor in rural Chub Run, W. Va, a town that no longer exists, hopped a train as a teenager to whatever big city his ticket would take him and worked his way up to National Sales Manager. A great success story. A little known fact was that he absolutely hated New York City. Loved the reps but hated having to come up for shows and meetings. As the upper management and corporate culture changed at Ross it was clear that Karl's good old boy manner was not going to be tolerated. His favorite line: "I'm just a salesman" A loss for Abbott and all who knew him.
I worked for Karl in Columbus and he was all that the original poster stated and more. I learned a lot from him and it was a fun and memorable experience for certain! Those were the good old days at Ross.
