Saying goodbye to Dal, a Forum friend

[jim ...]

Dal will be so missed by everyone here at the forum. My heart goes out to his family and friends.

[Paul029]

I was saddened to learn of Dal’s passing.
(Thank you, Ellen, for the posting.)

He was a patient and courteous Moderator (even when driven almost to exasperation by my S&I quibblings, at times, during the past two years) with a dry sense of humour and a quick intellect.

His presence and input will be missed.

Valé, Dal.

[tfferg]

How sad that we have lost such a wonderful partner in our discussions!

I never had the pleasure of meeting Steve in person, so I appreciate the photos.

I will be mindful of him when we kruat nam.

[brokebacktom]

RIP

 

[Sandy]

Steve was a fellow mod with Charlotte and me on some of the more "serious" threads, and he brought perspective, wit, and, well, moderation to his moderating. He was even-handed and even modded me when I needed it. He was passionate and decent and never out of touch with his sense of humor.

My condolences to his friends and family.

Rest in peace, Steve.

[Dave Cullen]

ellen, that was a really touching tribute to dal. i wanted to say something quickly, before i went to bed last night, so i just came back to read it more closely, and i was really touched. i'm sure he would appreciate that.

[Meryl]

I'm very sorry to hear about Dal's passing.  Thanks to CellarDweller for letting me know.  We met briefly in 2007 in the company of Annie Proulx.  I hope he's "flying in the euphoric, bitter air, looking down on the hawk's back...suspended above ordinary affairs...."

[Melisande]

Though Steve and I never met in person, we PM'd a lot over the years. He was always funny and sensible and made me laugh with his dry sense of humor. He made it all fun. I'll miss him very much.

[Cally]

Ellen, it must have been so hard for you to know that Steve was going downhill.  But how good - for both of you - that you were able to spend that time with him.

[Lance]

I'm sorry that Steve is not with us any more; his gentle spirit and incisive, intelligent humour were wonderful. He and Sandy replaced me when I left the post of moderator on the scenes and elements, etc. section, and I am utterly certain that the level of heat was moderated by that replacement. I never had the pleasure of meeting Steve in person, but in PMs and public posts, I always found him unfailingly warm, intelligent, and gracious. i'm so glad that he was here.

[Marz]

This is so sad, although I never met Steve in person he was always lovely to me whenever I was on here and seemed like a true Gent, its so heartbreaking to lose another member of our forum family and he will be greatly missed by all of us
he was last on here less then a month ago
Rest in peace Steve and thank you for your contribution to the forum
 

[garyd]

I enjoyed all of my conversations with Steve.  He had a delightful, gentle sense of humor.

Ellen, is there to be any sort of memorial service?  Did Steve or his family mention any specific charities or organizations to which donations might be made in his memory?

[Miaisland]

Rest in peace, Dal and thank you from me too.

[Ellen (tellyouwhat)]

I enjoyed all of my conversations with Steve.  He had a delightful, gentle sense of humor.

Ellen, is there to be any sort of memorial service?  Did Steve or his family mention any specific charities or organizations to which donations might be made in his memory?

Dal's mother told me there won't be a service until October.  Meanwhile, I have a call in to his sister asking about charities or organizations.  When I hear I'll let you know.

**********
Edited to add:

The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Stephen Ross Gaspar MD Memorial Resident Educational and Research Fund, Dept. of Physical Medicine and Rehab, Temple University School of Medicine, 3400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia PA 19140

I will add this info the the first post in the thread so it will be easy to find.

[tonydude]

  He was one of my favorite people, from the internet.   I think he was a witty, sweet soul, and we just don't have enough of that breed.  This is a hurt.