In Memoriam

To have your message posted here please email it to Gudrun. All messages are posted in date order.

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Feb 27, 2003
Hail the Manx,

The world is a little emptier, tonight.

It is with profound sorrow, and tremendous grief, that I report the passing
of Master Finnr, this evening, of a heart attack.

I would write more, but I just can't, right now. Please raise your glasses
in rememberance of a good man, and keep his wife, Karen, in your thoughts.

More to follow as information becomes available.

Yours,
Thomas Longshanks

Feb 27, 2003
Friends:

I was just going to put this piece up on the memorial page, but it seems to have truncated the longer text. At the risk of adding more noise in a painful time - I think here is the best place to share it.

James was not someone I "..knew half as well as I should like." I did see a reflection of myself in many aspects of his character (I'd like to think the good ones). He always greeted me warmly - but that too was one of his best qualities. We were alike in age, and I must admit that the cold wind I have been feeling at my back this winter has just turned to an icey blast
down my spine.

Darrell / Kettil

Feb 27, 2003
Greetings to all dear friends,

Like all of you I am totally shocked and broken-hearted beyond words and it's quite hard to write this email. Besides being my Laurel, he was one of my best friends for the last 10 years and I will miss him dearly for the rest of my days. I also feel great sadness for his wife Karen and his brother David and I will do my best to help them both in any way that I can. Please make sure you all keep Karen and David in your thoughts and prayers.

I don't quite know what else to say right now except that I can't believe this has happened and I will always miss him. I'm just glad that I got to talk to him on the phone yesterday and had fun hanging out with him at Ice Axe this past Saturday.

I will miss you James. I will miss your friendship, your fathomless energy and generosity, and that shaggy red beard of yours. Having you in my life has made me a better and happier human being.

Until we meet again my friend...

Yours in service and friendship,

Gudrun Ottosdottir

Feb 27, 2003
I find myself sitting here stunned as I am sure others are over this sad news. Master Finnr is one of the finest individuals I know upholding all the values that I hold dear to my own heart and then some. I am honored to have known him and will keep a piece of his spirit alive in my own heart. Thank you for keeping us posted on upcoming information and please feel free to ask anything that needs done as I know many such as myself want to do so much for Karen in this time.

Yours In Service,
Lord Valdis of Gotland

Lo, there do I see my father
Lo, there do I see my mother and my sisters
and my brothers
Lo, there do I see the line of my people back
to the beginning
Lo, they do call to me
They bid me take place among them
in the Halls of Valhalla
Where the brave may live forever

Animals die, friends die and I shall die, but one thing never dies and that is the reputation we leave behind at our death.

Feb 27, 2003
While Tracie & I are new to Yarnvid and only met James a little over a
month ago, one could tell that he was one of those special people with the
unusual talent for making anyone feel welcome and a part of something
larger than they. He will be missed.

Our hearts go out to Karen in her time of loss.
Karen - I don't pretend to know exactly how you feel - no one can. But, I
did lose my husband less than a year ago. If you need someone to talk to,
I am here. Phone me, e-mail me, or simply drop by. If there is ANYTHING I
can do for you, don't hesitate to ask.

With sympathy,
Jennifer Vermillion

Feb 27, 2003
Oh my....I am so sorry to hear that. He was such a helpful and friendly man. He will be missed, my heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

Eirika

Feb 28, 2003
I'm stunned and shocked at the news. I am at a loss for words to describe how great a man FinnR was. All I can think of is a stanza from the Havamal:

Cattle die, kinsman die
every man is mortal
but I know of something that never dies
the memory of the great dead.

FinnR can certianly be counted among them and he will certianly not be forgotten.

Gunnar Draudrson
aka Scott Cozad

Feb 28, 2003
I was stunned when I opened my mails this morning. I haven't known Finnr as long as you folks, but his generosity of spirit, the open-handed friendship with which he invited me onto the Manx list, his stimulating postings, on and off-list, and his enthusiasm for the period and setting of our mutual interest will be sorely missed here on this side of the water. One of the nicest people I never met. A sad loss to all of us, my deepest sympathies go to his wife.

Respect,
Guðrum

Feb 28, 2003
He will be missed greatly, we are dimished by his passing. I am honored to have had the opportunity to sit and speak with him on occasion.

The accounts of his deeds shall echo to Valhal, and his word-fame will not
soon pass quietly from this earth.

Vels

Feb 28, 2003
Light the watch fires, sound the horns and beat the drums, for Finnr has gone home!

The vast halls of the ancestors have made room for another.
May his great red beard drip with the ale of their welcoming
And may his tales of deeds and adventures ring in their ears,
Filling them with wonder, mirth and the sure knowledge
That his place by our fires will be forever empty.

The Manx will weep,
But on the quiet summer breezes to come
We will hear his hammer in the distance and pause,
As our hearts lighten to know he creates still.

Murien ni Fairschellig

Feb 28, 2003
Manx friends,

The World was a better place for having Finnr in it. It is in times like we have now that men like him are most needed having never meet him face to face, I feel I can say that Ihonestly never meet a nicer man. His passion for what we do was inspiring and we should never forget him or that passion as with Andrew, Finnr invited me here to mingle with a group of folks that he held dear. Reading your words I know now just why he held you so dear, you are a wonderful group of folks and I know he will always be apart of your memories, it will be so for me.

Though I am not the best at producing words for these occasions, simply know that a great man is now in a better place and just to grasp for a small positive (we must always at least try to do so) no longer will James have to wonder "how was this done?" for he is now with a Being who has all the answers ;)

Please pass my sincerest sympathies to his real family and know that these same sympathies go to his SCA/Manx family as well.

F air well my friend, you will be sorely missed.

Hersir Halvgrímr Aðálraðarson
Robb Schuster

Feb 28, 2003
I just received word that my Laurel, Master Finnr, passed away without
warning. Please keep his wife and friends in your thoughts.

Margret

Feb 28, 2003
Finnr had such a kind and giving heart that it
seems so sad that it would have failed him when
it helped so many, so many times. It is hard to
imagine a more bitter loss. May he be happy where
ever he is and I look forward to seeing him again
when my journey here is done.

Chris

Feb 28, 2003
I only met James this past summer but found him to be a kind and onsiderate man and I'll always wish I'd had the chance to know him better. My measure of a successful life is the number of friends that a person has and James obviously was loved by many people.

My condolences and prayers go to his family and friends for their loss.

Perry Morse

Feb 28, 2003
Greetings to you all,

I am mostly a lurker on this list but I have known Finnr for nearly a decade. Gudrun, my deepest sympathies to you and his other apprentices for losing
such a wonderful teacher and Peer. Finnr was one of my first and best friends in the SCA and I love him a great deal. That someone so good and
so vital to the world around him is just gone is very hard for me to cope with. I have been very glad to read the many eloquent tributes to him on this list, as you have put words to what I could not.

Finnr, you are one of my heroes and I love you forever and a day.

Kilmeny

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