We’ve all been through this.

You get to know individuals. You work with them, share a joke with them, learn a little about their family. You consider them to be a friend, but you don’t socialize with them or get to know them too much beyond what they reveal in the context of your professional relationship.

Then you get a phone call. You hear that this person has just died. He’s gone! Forever! Just like that!

The news sucks the air out of your lungs. You feel like you’ve just been kicked in the gut, or the chops … or both — at once!

Matthew Hutchison was a young man in his late 30s. He and I worked together at the Amarillo Globe-News for a number of years. Our duties were vastly different. Matt was an assistant city editor in charge of managing reporters and editing their stories to ensure they were accurate and complete. I edited the Opinion page at the paper. We kept a professional separation, but we maintained a cordial, friendly personal relationship.

Were we close friends? Did we see each other after hours?

No. But when the news arrives as it did this morning that your friend and former colleague has passed away, well, it’s still difficult to assess.

Especially at this time of year. We’re entering the holiday season. We are about to give thanks for our blessings. I cannot imagine how Matt’s young wife and their three precious little girls are going to cope with their heartbreak at this moment.

We all feel their pain. We also know that even as they feel the love that will pour their way, it won’t lessen their grief.

I just hope they know they are not alone. They have plenty of company during this terrible moment.

Oh, man. This really hurts.