Stephanie Yao Long

Sam Blackman, the 41-year-old founder of Portland tech success story Elemental Technologies, left a mark in Oregon business and political circles. The Portland native sold the company to Amazon in 2015 for $296 million, but remained its leader. There was an outpouring of shock and sadness on social media Monday as word spread of his death.

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Sam Blackman was a beacon of Oregon's tech community. My heart is with his family and friends https://t.co/2BSjW1gm6h — Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) August 28, 2017

Kate Brown

The governor praised Blackman for his civic activism on issues such as education, hunger, and the environment.

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Devastating news. Sam was an incredible individual who made a tremendous impact on Oregon. I’m keeping Sam’s family in my thoughts & prayers https://t.co/ExbEpKgqpH — Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) August 28, 2017

Jeff Merkley

Senator Merkley joined the chorus of well wishers and devastated Oregonians.

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English doesn't have words to express the sadness & loss of Sam Blackman. We are all fortunate to have him in our lives. Thoughts & prayers. — Allen Alley (@allen_alley) August 28, 2017

Allen Alley

Allen Alley, a long-time Republican presence in Oregon political circles, hired Blackman out of graduate school to work at onetime Tualatin tech company Pixelworks.

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Sick to hear about Sam Blackman's passing. Gave so much to Portland and had so much more to give. Thoughts & prayers are with his family. — Merritt Paulson (@MerrittPaulson) August 28, 2017

Merritt Paulson

Paulson owns the Portland Timbers professional soccer team.

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Devasted to hear this awful news. Sam was a huge part of making the #PDX #startup scene real. https://t.co/qdPDxdx7mk — Mat Ellis (@MatEllis) August 28, 2017

Mat Ellis

Ellis is a father of three and fellow Portland tech CEO and founder of Cloudability.

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Wow. This is such a loss. So sad for his family, and his team https://t.co/FrDQC2xKwQ — Luke Kanies (@lkanies) August 28, 2017

Luke Kanies

Kanies is the founder of Puppet, which along with Blackman's Elemental Technologies is one of Portland's most prominent tech firms.

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Terrible, gutting news. Sam was a special person, truly one of the best. Loss for words… — Bill Lynch (@billjive) August 28, 2017

Bill Lynch

The co-fonder of Jive Software, Lynch is also an executive at Cloudability and a part of Portland's young tech community.

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Deeply saddened to learn about Sam's passing. A devastating loss for his family and for Portland. https://t.co/FMyjlR2Em9 — Josh Reich (@i2pi) August 28, 2017

Josh Reich

Reich is the CEO of the Portland-based banking startup, Simple.

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Devastated to hear about Sam Blackman's passing. He was instrumental in developing the Oregon Investment Act. https://t.co/mu4jacbpv6 — Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) August 28, 2017

Ted Wheeler

In 2012, before he became mayor of Portland, Wheeler worked closely with Blackman on state investment policy.

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Very sad to hear of the sudden passing of Sam Blackman. He was an amazing person that I admired so much. My thoughts are with his family. — Chris McGowan (@ChrisDMcGowan) August 28, 2017

Chris McGowan

McGowan is president of the Portland Trail Blazers.

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So devastated to hear of the passing of Sam Blackman. He was an incredible community leader. Our thoughts are with the @elementaltech team. pic.twitter.com/Nj7D2WDt1v — SOLVE (@SOLVEinOregon) August 28, 2017

SOLVE

Blackman was celebrated for his commitment to nonprofit groups and civic organizations, such as the environmental stewardship group, SOLVE.

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Dozens of others shared their thoughts on Blackman on social media

Sam Blackman clearly left a mark in the metro area in the business, nonprofit and political communities. He was also a beloved friend, and thoughts rolled in on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere throughout the day Monday.

We are devastated by the sudden passing of @elementaltech founder Sam Blackman. He was a true pillar of our entrepreneurial community. pic.twitter.com/uahqg8d2Yj — Oregon Entrepreneurs (@oenorg) August 28, 2017

So incredibly sad to hear about Sam Blackman's passing. Thought sure he'd be our governor one day. Love to his family. — christina d williams (@Seeger) August 28, 2017

Sam Blackman is one of the best people I know. He'll be so missed. Everyone I know who knows him is gutted. — Ben Matasar (@matasar) August 28, 2017

I am absolutely crushed to hear of the loss of Sam Blackman. He was a force. A kind, generous force who never took... Posted by Kirsten Ringen on Monday, August 28, 2017

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My thoughts and prayers go out to Sam Blackman's family and friends. He was truly one of the kindest, most humble leaders I've ever met. https://t.co/Hiv6fZ0wgd — Carolyn Paola (@carolynpaola) August 28, 2017

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So sad to hear about the death of Sam Blackman. He was so special and so important to so many. The world is truly a darker place today. — Geoff Entress (@geoffentress) August 28, 2017

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Rest in eternal Peace, Sam Blackman. Mourning this tragic news 😰You were an inspiring leader & such a kind soul. 💔☮️🌟https://t.co/ssCNQryXSD — Carrie Hearne 🌿 🐾 🌻 ✌🏼 (@carrieella) August 28, 2017

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We are deeply saddened by the sudden loss of our friend & partner, Sam Blackman. Our hearts go out out his family & team at @elementaltech. pic.twitter.com/feBg8wcMcR — POIC + RAHS (@POIC_RAHS) August 28, 2017

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Pretty gutted by Sam Blackman's passing away. Life is short, there are no guarantees and that is sobering as hell. Going to hug my fam. — Sasha (@sashamace) August 28, 2017

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Sam Blackman knew how to live. Stand for something. Work hard. Love harder. You inspired many, already sorely missed @pdxseedfund @rogoway — Angela Jackson (@ABJackson) August 28, 2017

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I am absolutely crushed to hear of the loss of Sam Blackman. He was a force. A kind, generous force who never took... Posted by Kirsten Ringen on Monday, August 28, 2017

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