The biggest sign of emotional intelligence, according to me

I had a friend, whose name I won’t mention. He passed away. It was a tragic accident. We weren't close friends but friends nonetheless. Our families were quite close. I had great respect for him but he possessed one trait that always stood out. It defined our interactions. I have another acquaintance, who’s similar. Here again, our families are close, our wives are friends, so I’m singling him out.

Both of these individuals are (unfortunately “were” in the case of the first one) very intelligent, very educated. They are very…