In Memoriam

I have been a gamer for many, many years. I remember the early days of gaming when it was all new and there were no clichés.

Time, of course, marches ever onward and slowly the people who gave us this wonderful hobby are starting to leave us.

David A. Hargrave, who created the Arduin setting and supplements for D&D, died of complications stemming from exposure to Agent Orange on August 29,1988 at the age of 42.

J. Andrew Keith who, along with his brother William H. Keith, wrote a significant portion of the Traveller Canon (under a variety of names) died unexpectedly on August 7, 1999 just prior to his 41st birthday.

E. Gary Gygax died more recently, on March 4, 2008 at the age of 69. Gary along with the late Dave Arneson created Dungeons & Dragons which is the great-grand-daddy of all modern fantasy and sci-fi gaming.

Bob Bledsaw died of cancer on April 19, 2008 at age 65. Bob founded Judges Guild, one of the first independent producers of RPG products.

Erick Wujcik died of cancer on June 7, 2008 at age 57. He was an eclectic designer of games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness. He worked for Kevin Siembieda of Palladium Books. Kevin got started in gaming working for Bob Bledsaw... its a small hobby.

Dave Arneson died of cancer on April 7, 2009 at the age of 61. Dave pretty much invented modern fantasy gaming. He was the principal developer of the original Chainmail rules that formed the basis of the original D&D (co-created with Gary Gygax). I actually got to meet Dave at Origins 2001 when I was a Bounty Hunter for Alderac Entertainment Group. Dave was a very friendly guy and he spent the better part of two hours just hanging out and schmoozing with the gamers and Bounty Hunters. He told stories of the early days of the hobby - hell, I was in Jr. High when a lot of this stuff happened. He was just a regular guy and had a real appreciation for the common gamer.

David F. Tepool died unexpectedly on May 28, 2009 from a cardiac arrest. He was credited as co-author of the FASA RPG and was the creator of the much-loved Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator. David had not been active in game design in a number of years, but he returned to the game industry a few years ago as the owner of Olde Rivertowne Miniatures, a mail-order minis firm based in his home town of Newburgh, IN.

Sadly, this page will only grow more crowded in time. Other gaming giants are now in their sixties and seventies which is itself a sobering thought. I own some game manuals that are older than many of my opponents. At the advanced age of 44, I am something of a grey-bearded veteran myself. It is perhaps for this reason I felt it necessary to include this section of the site.

Related Pages
[Dave Hargrave]
[J. Andrew Keith]
[Gary Gygax]
[Bob Bledsaw]
[Erick Wujcik]
[Dave Arneson]
[David F. Tepool]

Up
What's New?
Codex: Lyubov
Allies & Enemies
Imperial Library
The Frugal Gamer
Propaganda
Glimmer Drift Sector
Downloads
Links
In Memoriam
About this Site
Site Map
Contact