This week, the Case Western Reserve University community mourned the passing of University Technology employee Pete Babic, who passed away unexpectedly on Nov. 24 at the age of 60. Babic, an applications developer in [U]Tech, had been a CWRU employee for over 30 years.

Babic spearheaded the [U]Tech Software Center in order to grant students, staff and faculty access to the various products made available by the university. Furthermore, he facilitated the implementation of Box as the University’s preferred solution to digital storage.

In addition to Babic’s hefty contributions to [U]Tech, he is remembered by his colleagues for his unique personality.

“He was more fun-loving than anyone else I know. He had a fun pastime for every season,” said Lisa Previte, Babic’s manager and the associate director of [U]Tech’s Enterprise Content Management Team.

Those pastimes included skiing, spending summers on his boat and visiting Cedar Point each time there was a new roller coaster. As a roller coaster enthusiast, Babic was first in line when Cedar Point’s new roller coaster, Steel Vengeance, opened this past summer, and was one of the ride’s so-called “inaugural” riders.

Above all else, Babic is remembered as an incredibly balanced individual. According to Previte, he perfectly embodied the idea of “work hard, play hard,” as he dedicated just as much time and effort to his hobbies as he did to his job.

In Previte’s words, “[Babic] really saw the value in living life, making connections and developing relationships, as equally valuable to the workplace as the strong work ethic he displayed,” she said.

In the context of who would succeed Babic in the workplace, Previte commented on Babic’s absence as both an employee and vibrant personality.

“We’re going to have an incredibly difficult time filling that void,” she said.