Posted by David Cook on July 8, 2002:

Posted on Sat, Jun. 22, 2002 J. Powers, 48, ex-valley executive, devoted dad By the Mercury News Even before West Point and his Silicon Valley success, Sean Powers was a natural leader. But golf he had to learn. And he excelled at it, winning his club championship five times. He would have been one of the U.S. Army's youngest generals, his family believes. Instead, he became one of Silicon Valley's youngest corporate presidents before the dot-com boom. Born John Joseph Powers III in Rhode Island and raised in Kailua, Hawaii, he was called Sean from the start, and at an early age he assumed a leadership role in his big Irish-American, Roman Catholic family. The oldest of eight children, he was like a second father to his siblings, his family said, organizing the school sandwich-making assembly line, among other duties. Unable to gain acceptance into West Point after attending Punahou High School, he enlisted in 1972 and earned an Army appointment to West Point, where he was captain of the golf team and graduated in 1977, commissioned as a second lieutenant. In the late 1970s, he came down with a rare and potentially fatal blood disease but recovered after a marrow transplant from his brother Duke. His illness forced an honorable medical discharge. Six months ago, a form of leukemia appeared, followed by another marrow transplant and massive doses of chemotherapy. Mr. Powers died Monday at age 48. His sister Kathi Powers died 12 hours later of cancer, and his mother had died a month before. ''The thing he loved most was his family,'' said Duke Powers, 42, of Los Altos Hills. ''He was a very strong, loving leader and extremely focused.'' After West Point, Mr. Powers earned a master's of business administration degree with honors from Santa Clara University and became a salesman for Texas Instruments. He moved to Arrow Electronics of San Jose as general sales manager before joining Anthem Electronics, where he rose to president of the $800 million-a-year firm. He oversaw the purchase and integration of Anthem by Arrow and retired in 1999, but he kept a hand in the firm. ''He was everything a leader should be,'' said business colleague and friend Marvin Wenger, 46, of Los Altos. ''He was charismatic, compassionate, a great mediator and problem solver. He had very unique leadership skills; we all learned a lot from him.'' ''His nickname was 'Quick Plan,' '' said Rob Heun, an Anchorage, Alaska, police officer who graduated from West Point with Mr. Powers and remained a close friend. ''No matter how small the project, he always had a plan.'' Heun recalled a fishing trip in Alaska some years ago when the fish eluded them until one day when Mr. Powers started singing. That's when they landed a big salmon, Heun said. Carin Poeschl Powers met her future husband at their brothers' college graduation in 1980. She was 24; he was 26. They married a year later to the day and had two daughters, Tierney and Quinn. ''I knew the minute I met him that we were going to marry,'' Carin Poeschl Powers said. ''He was so sensitive to the fact that my father had just had open heart surgery. He related to that, and he shared with me that he had just undergone a bone marrow transplant.'' Carin Poeschl Powers said he taught their daughters golf, and the family loved traveling to Europe. His favorite music, she said, was what he called ''fun'' music -- the reggae group UB40, the Hawaiian music of Israel ''Iz'' Kamakawiwo'Ole, and the music of his Irish heritage as played by the Chieftans. And he had a wonderful way of inspiring and being a mentor to people, she said, including encouraging her artistic endeavors. ''In the last two years, he went through a very big spiritual growth phase; he was at a turning point, he wanted to make a difference in people's lives outside of business. ''All his life he had looked ahead and planned; in the very last days he began to look back. Now we have to see the beauty that can come from the tears, the reaching out to one another.'' John Joseph ''Sean'' Powers III Born: Nov. 4, 1953, in Rhode Island Died: June 17, 2002, at Stanford Survived by: Wife, Carin Poeschl Powers of Los Altos Hills; daughters, Tierney and Quinn of Los Altos Hills; brothers and sisters-in-law, Matthew and Mary Powers of Irvine, Mark and Ellie Powers of Los Altos Hills, Duke and Cathy Powers of Los Altos Hills, Timothy and Cindy Powers of Alamo, and Patrick and Allison Powers of Honolulu; and sister and brother-in-law Patricia and Dorn Driggs of San Ramon. Services: Have been held. Memorial: The family suggests donations in Mr. Powers' memory to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 675 N. First St., Suite 1100, San Jose, Calif. 95112.

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