The phone rang yesterday. Joe Kenner, President of Greyston, told me that Dion Drew had died early morning from the brain tumor that he had been diagnosed with 6 months ago. “It feels like the end of an era,” Joe said.

Bernie and Jishu stepping away from Greyston seemed to be an end of an era. Other events took place, and each in turn seemed to possess some kind of aura, representing something beyond itself. But it’s much more fitting to talk about Dion Drew and what he meant to many people.

He was not an Olympics champ, with cameras flashing in his face to catch a bright-teeth smile or reporters eagerly jotting down biographical details. But Dion’s life was no less worthy.

He grew up in the projects of Southwest Yonkers and, as he tells it, started selling drugs at the age of 15, going in and out of jail. He finally went to prison for 4 years. While there, he thought about what he could do upon his release and he came up with four goals: get a job, save some money, start a family, and make his mother proud.

When he came out, he couldn’t get a job till Greyston Bakery, which Bernie founded some 43 years ago, hired him as part of their open-hiring process. They don’t ask you what you did or whether you have a prison record, they give a job to anyone who comes through the door.

You can hear him describe his life much better than I can in a Ted talk, along with his boss at the Greyston Bakery, Mike Brady, here.

He rose through the ranks, and in the process discovered that he had a gift for public speaking. He became a public advocate and speaker about the importance of open hiring, thus giving a chance to people who’d been incarcerated and who, upon their release, want a chance to rebuild their lives. He did this in various venues to CEOs, politicians, and the media. Greyston couldn’t have wished for a more eloquent spokesperson.

After a number of years, Dion decided that he wanted to be a preacher and help congregation members overcome misery and hardship. In discovering his gift, he had also discovered a passion.

Six months ago, Dion Drew was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He died yesterday in early morning at the age of 48.

I met and spoke to him only on the few times I visited Greyston, and he would leave me thoughtful and deeply moved. He had achieved the four goals he had set up for himself in prison, and as he said in the video, every morning of his life outside prison he felt like Sylvester Stallone in Rocky running up those steps of the big state capitol. At the same time, he was always humble and self-effacing. Many people took his words to heart and changed their own lives.

Either he or Mike Brady quoted Bernie in the video saying that the best thing you could do with your life is help others change theirs. Bless you, Dion.

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