Information travels quickly — especially, it seems, when it involves a message you don’t want to receive.

I just got word from a friend of mine that another friend — someone many of us grew to love — has died.

His picture is here. His name is Menashe Livnat. He was an Israeli gentleman who served 10 foreign visitors as their guide, father confessor, counselor, troubleshooter, fix-it man. He was everything to us. He became our friend for life.

I first laid eyes on Menashe the evening of June 10, 2009. I had just traveled from Amarillo to Israel with four friends; I was team leader of a group that comprised a Rotary International Group Study Exchange team that would stay in Israel for four weeks with host families. Menashe was at David Ben-Gurion International Airport to greet us, along with another Rotary GSE team from The Netherlands.

We exchanged handshakes and greetings, along with a few gifts we brought over from West Texas.

Then we were off, on our way to enjoy the adventure of a lifetime — which I have described several times over the years on this blog.

Menashe made it happen for us.

He was coordinator for the host Rotary district that welcomed us to Israel. He made sure we got to where we needed to be. We met with professionals in Israel, exchanged ideas on how we did our jobs.

We went non-stop for virtually the entire length of the exchange tour.

Menashe was the Indispensable Man.

We grew to adore him and his wife, Miri.

My friends and I each, I’m quite sure, have countless stories of what Menashe did for us during our time in Israel. As we toured through the country with our new Dutch friends, we learned much about ourselves and each other — and about Israel. Menashe was there every step of the way, even when he wasn’t physically present.

I’ll share this particular event.

There was one time during our tour in which we hadn’t seen Menashe for several days. We had encountered some hiccups along the way. We were growing tired. Our hosts had filled our days with activity from dawn to well past dusk.

Then he appeared at the place where we were gathering. Menashe was like a vision.

Menashe and I managed to get some private time and I told him we were running out of gas. He said “no problem.” He then canceled the activities for the next day and then we spent an entire day swimming in the Mediterranean Sea at Caeserea. He found time to allow us to relax, catch our breath, soak up some sun and think of nothing but how to enjoy the relaxing day in a beautiful Middle East vacation spot.

Menashe embodied the Rotary International motto of placing “Service Above Self.” He was a big-hearted, generous man who enabled five Americans and five Dutch to take in the experiences only found in one of the world’s most exciting and intriguing regions.

The news of his passing saddens me terribly.

I will miss this good man.