Longtime QSC sales and marketing executive Pete Kalmen, 62, lost a prolonged battle with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), a cluster of progressive diseases that damages the areas of the brain responsible for the control of personality, behavior, language skills and decision-making. Symptoms of this affliction led to Pete losing his job and unfortunately, due to the rarity of the condition, FTLD was not diagnosed until two years later, in 2005. Pete’s condition continued to worsen; eventually he was also struck with supranuclear palsy and he passed away on November 12, 2009.
A fun, smart guy whose warm smile, friendly manner and genuine concern for his customers earned him many friends in the pro audio and music industries, Pete Kalmen will be missed by all. He is survived by Jodee Kalmen, his wife of 36 years and their sons, Zack and Parker. Memorial donations in Pete’s name can be made to the Association for Frontotemporal Dementia, www.ftd-picks.org.
