The Seattle community lost a giant last week, when Keith Grinstein passed away at the age of 48. A memorial service for Grinstein, the chairman of Coinstar and a venture capitalist at Second Avenue Partners, was held yesterday afternoon in Seattle. I wanted to post a couple of thoughts from the community that I’ve gathered.
From Michael Butler of Cascadia Capital:
“When I moved back to Seattle, Keith was one of the first people I met in the business community. He went out of his way to help me integrate into the community. He was a person with a kind heart, quick wit and a larger-than-life personality. His departure leaves a void and he will be deeply missed.”
From Nick Hanauer of Second Avenue Partners:
“Keith was an extraordinarily talented man. He was incredibly bright, educated and informed. He could do the Saturday NY Times crossword in about 15 minutes. It was humiliating to even be in the room with him when he was doing it.
“No one in Seattle had a better sense of humor or timing. Once, when a group of us at a large party were listening to one of our mutual women friends tell the story of their brief romantic relationship, and how wonderful it had been, Keith, without missing a beat said ‘Holly, you coughed me up like a hairball’. It was hilarious.
“He was larger than life. His early passing is tragic.”
