Charlie "Tremendous" Jones was a great communicator. And as he would say it, he "graduated" yesterday, and heaven will be a livelier place with him there.

Why write a memorial in a communications blog? Because he was an example we can all emulate.

• He loved people, and he loved communicating in both written and spoken word.
• He wrote the book "Life Is Tremendous." He loved books, and he said, "You are the same today as you'll be in five years except for two things: the people you meet and the books you read."
• He was a world famous professional speaker - sought after for inspiration, wisdom and motivation.
• He was a hugger - and he was known by hundreds of thousands for going into his audiences and hugging people. Bear hugs. He was a big man, and when he hugged his beautiful wife Gloria, he engulfed her.

Charlie Tremendous Jones engulfed life. He cared about people, whether they were among thousands in one of his audiences or were one of a few in prayer groups that he was continuously starting up. Tremendous and Gloria loved kids, and they set aside one building on his Pennsylvania property so he could have Christmas year round for underprivileged kids.

He was a good friend and an inspiration. Charlie was one of twenty of us in Speakers Roundtable, and as we learned of his graduation there was an instant outpouring of nineteen celebratory emails to each other. Tremendous would have liked us celebrating, but not lauding him. He was a very humble man.

I featured him in my new book "You've Got To Be Believed To Be Heard" as 'A Tremendous Communicator' (naturally,) but the real reason is he was one of the most inspiring, authentic and infectiously positive people I know. That is the mark of a great communicator.

And Charlie Tremendous Jones was the best - in so many ways.