Farewell, Dear Fen: In Memorium
It’s amazing how many years have passed in the blink of an eye. Some of us who ventured into this grand adventure in the stars when we were in our late teens or twenties are now in our late fifties and early sixties. Some of us have seen divorces, remarriages, widowhood, our children have grown and are now parents themselves. Some have moved up the career ladder and now occupy places of authority and have their own key to the executive washroom. It has been, in my case, 34 years of fandom. I was a mere 25 when we published Contact I.
We are, I suppose, the lucky ones. We have, at least, survived to tell the stories. Others, notable in fandom, have passed on, lighting the path for the rest of us to follow. I’d like to pay tribute to a few of those, some unquestionably “BNF’s” (Big Name Fans), others perhaps not as well-known. And if I’m missing anyone whose name should be on that Role Call Up Yonder, please drop a comment and let me know. This no doubt partial list contains the names of those fen whom I knew personally and whose loss was significant to me as well as to fandom, those whose paths crossed mine more slightly, and a few I knew only by reputation. I present them here in alphabetical order.