"Gamers gone and remembered" Topic

Name a gamer you knew who has passed on.
Maybe an anecdote or character description rather than just "great guy"?
What was their favourite game?
When did they sign out?
I suggest we comment on the ones we liked rather than the ones who brought other players down.
A celebration.

martin

Fred Vietmeyer, who taught me his rules, Napoleonic history and miniatures game design.
Bob Huffstot who gave me my first and best painting advice.
Dave Mort, who gave me my first metal figure.
Just watching Fred Reynolds was a lesson in tactics.
Dana Homo, who used to give painted armies in pairs to any beginner who seemed interested.
All gone and many more. Of the 20 gamers at my first formal game, there may only be three of us still alive. I may have missed all the great bands, but I played in a lot of the great games.

Duncan McFarlane..all around fun and generous.

Bill Pritchard. My first wargame was at his house, that started a 30 plus year friendship. He was always generous with his time and knowledge.He was a master modeller, and a collector of toy soldiers. Every game was memorable. His love of the hobby was infectious. I miss him terribly, and every game I play I think of him.

Albert Revere. A good – hearted man who could. always make you laugh. He was an avid collector of all things related to the hobby and a talented painter and modeler.

Geoff Nurcombe. Brilliant painter, always had a twinkle in his eye, generous and kind. Prolific collector of armies.

He used to use pins on his 15mm ancient pikemen, sharp pointy end up. He'd always giggle when someone stabbed themselves – "teaches them respect for my figures". I started using pins too, and whenever uses mine, and says "ow" it brings back fond memories of an old friend.

Duke "Uncle Duke" Siegfried….'nuff said. *smile*
Robert "Bob" Gallavan, (TMP: Streitax).
Hank Esslinger: (TMP: Sholo Crittumbo).
Daniel Merchant: (TMP: Armyscout281 and Marauder Six).
Rick San Augustin: (Las Vegas Wargamers Society).
Blake Walker:(TMP Blake Walker).

Richard Houston of Houston's Ships-a superb modeller and great gentleman.
Biff Coon of Austin- a gentle spirit, die-hard Longhorn fan and a man who fought Parkinson's to keep gaming.

Robert Knecht, my life-long friend and steadfast gaming buddy. I miss you, my brother.

Thanks to all those who have contributed.
It is the little bits of "information/story" that preserve their memory I feel.
Do others agree that we should do this each January?

It always makes me feel better to acknowledge and remember past gamers (the nice ones).

martin

I agree. It's good to remember our friends.

Bob Eldridge naval gamer w/o peer, contributing author to
one of the major Naval rulesets and, at the time of his
passing, developing an intriguing 'what if' set based
upon an inter-war mid-Pacific confrontation between
the IJN and USN.

Bob also gamed a variety of other subjects and was
activity in the Fantasy gaming community as well.

Terry Boldt – Was the guy running the game store I went to when first out of the military. Got me into miniatures, played boards games as well. Became a long time dear friend. Lost him a week after 9/11. Needless to say, that was a crappy week.

Frank Arnold – Overall good guy, friend and gamer. Frequently gamed at his house. Still keep in touch with his oldest son, a gamer and airborne vet.

Lynn Morgan – Quiet guy, really good painter, but a good dude. He was in the AF so left our group quite a while ago. reconnected later via his wife on FB (he was not on social media). He passed early last year or late 2020. Found out via a FB post from his wife. He wasn't an avid gamer but he did enjoy it from time to time.

I have a picture in my game room of me, Terry, Lynn and another friend John Stafford, at Gettysburg, after a weekend at Historicon. We had all travelled from our various locales to johns place. Unforgettable trip.

Don Featherstone – the man that started it all.

John Murdaugh (Jackson Gamers) – always willing to play just about anything as long as it involved moving figures and rolling dice. link

Jim

Wally Simon. I wasn't in his basement for the big day, but I played on his table in his house.

John Neahr. He literally owned an oil well, and the way he bought up wargame stuff he needed one. I hope he really wanted my old John Carter of Mars figures, and didn't just buy them because I was was hard up. (I bought them back from his estate sale.) The fantasy/RPG people tell me how his villainous character jumped out of a third floor(?) without stopping to look, because if he'd hesitated the good guys would have caught up with him. The DM (Dana Homo) gave him a 5% chance, and on a roll of 03, there was a hay wagon below the window.

Bob Corey. I can see him yet with a copy of CLS II in one hand and a bottle of tranquillizers in the other. His hands were shaking so badly that the pages were rustling and you could hear the tranquilizers rattling in the bottle.

I should mention Huffstodt's First Rule. On seeing my first painted miniatures, he told me "give everything a good white primer--and keep painting until you can't see any white." Words to live by.

I was very fortunate to be part of a great group of gamers including Ron Strickland & Steve Fugua here in DFW. We started gaming with WRG Ancients, Renaissance & Napoleonics and were some of the 1st DFW D&D players. We became good friends & got to know each other's families. We played games & campaigns, attended conventions, went to movies & dined & caroused together. Alas, a few died, others moved out of state.

Dan Schorr – his articles on all things Scandinavian and, later, his GNW booklets for Editions Brokaw and his website, 'Northern Wars' – truly a prolific author, wargamer and man of many talents

Larry Brom – a tough-as-nails Marine (once a Marine, always a Marine), author of "The Sword and the Flame" and an all-around awesome gentleman and gamer.

Like Dan, Larry was exceedingly generous with his time and expertise. Both helped anyone who asked and I've never met a wargamer who knew them who had a negative thing to say about either of them, even if they weren't into Colonials or Scandinavian wargaming.

At a Historicon back in the beginning 00's (I want to say 2001), Dan and I sat in the lobby of the Host and talked for 3 hours about everything related to the GNW and Swedes and Norwegians during the 1700s and 1800s. I also remember a Sikh War game with Larry and a bunch of great guys with Larry being the life of the party during the game. Of course, he was with his normal "S and F" dudes but he was welcoming of all gamers.

Dan died this past August and Larry passed to his Heavenly reward a few years back. Both are sorely missed.

Breaking my own TMP Read Only Rule I will add the names from our local (St. Louis. Missouri) group Big Muddy Historical Miniatures Gaming Alliance as posted in our December 2021 E-Newsletter.

In Memoriam

As 2021 draws to a close and we turn the calendar to what is hopefully a better 2022
Let's take time to remember those who with we shared our mutual hobby some lived here on a permeant basis, some for shorter periods but all were folks with whom some of us enjoyed rolling dice and moving figures.

Mike Benjamin
Mike Blattel
Mike Doelling
Bob Duncan
Craig Gaddis
Rich Gasperi
Bill Gaynor
Dan Hillen
Kevin Joyce
Cheryl Kallenbach
Ken Lambing
Russ Meeks
Dave Meisel
Joe Mele
Del Miller
Eddie Montague
Bill Nardin
Dave Parent
Mike Randant
Doug Rorex
Terry Sofian
Ken Stremmel
Blake Walker
Jeff Weitkamp
Oliver Wischmeyer

Pat Condray. A learned and sometimes cantankerous gentleman who got me into the tricorne era of wargaming. The Man knew his stuff from placement of buttons on a uniform to the tactics used on the battlefields. He and his wife were great people always a pleasure to visit them. Rest in peace Mr. Condray.

I would have to start with the the big three of HMGS

Wally Simon- while HMGS started in his basement, I played in different basements of his. As a teen I would drive over to house almost weekly to partake in one or more games. He tinkered with every ruleset he ever got his hands on. Wally wrote a set of rules just for my wife to get her to play wargames with us. He had just modified them a day before he passed away. Started playing the banjo and studying Chinese for the fun of it later in life. When the negotiations with Origins-Atlanticon broke down, he picked up the banjo to play them out. Not the best tactician which is why we always claimed that there was no greater accomplishment in wargaming than winning with Wally on your side.

Bob Coggins – always wearing an ascot. Great guy to sit around and chat about history and gaming.

Pat Condray – He always remembered the 12-year-old who was fascinated by military history. Though quite cantankerous and even antagonistic towards many, he was quick with a smile and joke with me.

Duncan McFarlane – a real gentleman in all the sense of that word. Loved to have him come over for dinner and chat when he was in the states. Sadly it was to infrequent as his schedule seemed to get busier and busier. Showed kindness to my wife and helped explain my hobby to her in a gentle way.

One additional note about Wally – he would frequently playtest new rules by deliberately employing illogical tactics. He figured that the designer and his friends had tested the rules' ability to handle the "normal" – but how would it handle the wacky and weird?

In our local CITW, Central Illinois Tabletop Wargames, Greg Novak, Phil Hall, and Walt Lebegue, Richard Nelson, and Dave Sering all stand out. Rich and Dave also were an avid part of our bi-monthly Thursday night gatherings. Their enthusiasm is greatly missed, and almost every session their names come up for one reason or another.

Another gamer who is greatly missed is George Johnson, the original Mr. GAJO. He was a dear friend, a generous spirit, and a fellow who lifted the spirts of those around him. He did a great deal for the gamers of our wonderful hobby. I miss him.

I really miss Jim Mitchell a true one of kind person. He was the editor of the Seven Years War Journal for a number of years and my travel companion on two SYW battlefield tours, 1994, 1998. He has been gone a number of years but I still have his last email he sent to me in 2006.

Dean West an insprational guy. His knowledge on the Civil War had few equals. His wargames were a thing to behold. It was like you were in a ballon looking down on the actuall battlefield. A true wargame master.