Wes Mak

Wes Mak passed away yesterday.

He was 39 years old. He leaves behind his wife, three year old daughter, and seven month old son.

He also leaves behind his best friend, Sean Esna, who spun up this support registry for Wes' family. Sean said this about Wes:

Wesley Mak was the kindest, friendliest, most caring and thoughtful person not only I, but everyone he's ever interacted with, has met. He instantly lit up a room when he arrived. When you spoke with Wes, it was as if you were the only thing in the world that mattered at that moment. He truly listened, and dug deep to understand every single person in his life because he truly cared about them. He remembered conversations with them and reached out and recalled them so naturally, it felt like time never skipped a beat every time you spoke with him.

Wes and I worked out of the Twilio NYC office together. We mostly knew each other from passing in the hallway, but somehow still had a number of meaningful conversations about important life stuff. He was thoughtful, patient, and kind.

So kind.

It seemed like every time I posted a photo on Instagram or sent out one of these blog posts, Wes was first to reply with a short, complimentary comment – even though we didn't know each other particularly well. The last time we traded messages he was encouraging me about our move out of the city – telling me how good the move to the burbs had been for them.

I shot these photos of Wes in the offfice in May 2022.