Still a cause for celebration. On Friday, Oct. 2, Sheryl Sandberg took to Facebook to share a heartbreaking post in honor of what would have been her late husband Dave Goldberg’s 48th birthday.
The Lean In author, 46, admitted that though it has been “a long 22 weeks” since the SurveyMonkey CEO’s unexpected death on May 1, she and the couple’s loved ones are determined to turn their mourning into celebration.
“…in keeping with the promise I made to myself to try to kick the s— out of Option B, I join many others in celebrating Dave’s life,” she wrote, in reference to a post she shared in June, about staying strong when life circumstances change. “And I thank my family and friends from the bottom of my heart for carrying me and my children through these brutal months and for helping us keep his memory alive.”
Goldberg died in Punta Mita, Mexico after falling off a treadmill while he and Sandberg were vacationing together. The couple share a young son and daughter.
“Dave was a loving father, husband, son, and brother, a great entrepreneur, and a dedicated and generous friend,” Sandberg continued. “So many people, even some I did not know, have told me how he helped them start their career or encouraged them to reach higher or do better. So many people say that when they have a decision to make, they ask themselves, ‘What would Dave have done?’ So many people talk about how even in death he inspires them to live better lives.”
“Over these past months, Dave’s voice has continued to ring clear and true or many of us: when SurveyMonkey ran a company-wide week of service to #makedaveproud; when we cut the ribbon to open the first KIPP school in Redwood City (Dave believed strongly that every child deserves a good education); when the Minnesota Vikings played their opening game of the season in San Jose; when my children tell a story about something they learned from their father.”
“As much as it breaks my heart not to have him here to celebrate his birthday, he remains the best example I know of a life worth living,” Sandberg concluded. “I will always love you, Dave.”
The power couple first met in 1996 in Los Angeles, and tied the knot in 2004. In a post she wrote just days after Goldberg’s death, the business executive only had the fondest memories.
“We had 11 truly joyful years of the deepest love, happiest marriage, and truest partnership that I could imagine,” she wrote on May 5. “He gave me the experience of being deeply understood, truly supported and completely an utterly loved — and I will carry that with me always.”
