It’s 3:00am December 29, 2001. My two young boys, Tyler who is three and Jared who is eighteen months, are sound asleep, exhausted from the holiday excitement.

My phone rings. I hear my mom’s trembling voice; “Todd’s been killed, and I’m worried about your father.”

My younger brother, six years my junior, my best friend, my best man, was gone in a snowmobile accident — just like that.

A wave of grief crashed over me. But as it turned out, losing Todd shattered more than my heart; it also shattered every reason I’d been clinging to a job I didn’t love.

I’d been floundering since high school. In 1983, I tried Mass Maritime Academy, only to drop out after three days. I gave Fitchburg State a shot and left after a year. Photography school in Boston? One class, then I was gone. No matter what I tried, I felt like I was drifting.

But in March of 1986, I landed a job at a small marble-and-tile store on Route 9 in Framingham, and for the first time, I found a spark of purpose.

Scott, the manager, became my mentor. We worked side by side, often sixty-five hours a week, and he showed me the power of treating clients like family. It felt good. I finally believed I’d found my calling.

After eighteen months I moved on to manage a different store. This location was owned by a franchisee and the environment was toxic.

So, I switched to the wholesale side of the business. I hoped it would be different, but it was no better.

I loved working with the clients, but it was a terrible environment. But I spent twelve years working there.

I wanted to leave desperately but was afraid. What if I failed? How would I care for my two young boys. I was finally making a decent living.

Fear said, “Stay put.”

So, I stayed — until that phone call.

Todd was gone. My heart was broken. Life is short. I couldn’t stay.

Three months later, in March 2002, I started Stone Concepts. I wanted to return to the values Scott had taught me; be genuine, care deeply, and help people transform their spaces.

Today, Stone Concepts stands on that promise. Every project, every client, reminds me of Todd and what it took for me to step out on my own.

Bill Carey