Quoted from Whridlsoncestood:Thanks for the kind words everyone. I’ll pass these on to his family. It was devastating when I got the call in the middle of the night. I still can’t believe he’s gone.
It seems like it was indeed a heart attack that took him as he went to bed for the night.
That man taught me so much. He was a wealth of knowledge. And always was too helpful when you needed it. He was the biggest curmudgeon I’ve ever known in my life and some how the kindest and most thoughtful person I’ve known in this hobby. He was more than just a pinball friend as we got to know eachother over the past decade.
And anyone on here that thinks you didn’t always see eye to eye with him it was all a show. He absolutely loved pulling someone’s chain and it was all in good fun. I’ve had some of the most brutal things said to me by him and it made us both smile.
If anyone is interest his wake will be Monday night from 4-7 in Stratford CT. It would be great to show his family just how much he meant to this community and how much it meant to him.
After the service we will meet back at The Sanctum in Meriden CT for the community to honor him for the night. Many of us will be adorning his signature Hawaiian shirts and be drinking his Sam Adams Cherry wheat beer. We also will be aquiring one of his actual shirts to hang in the rafters of the sanctum as a memorial to him. I hope many of you can join us for either of these on Monday. Doors for the sanctum will be open later than usual around 7:30 to accommodate the wake. At the wake in lieu of flowers it’s been requested to make donations to the humane society of Connecticut so We will be taking the door money Monday night and having a local player match it and donate to the humane society in his name.
Monday’s were our usual night for us to all hang with Taxman. Despite his crippling social anxiety in public he made it a point to make it to every Monday night for the past 6 years I’ve had this place open. Even Sunday for our tournament we had no idea how many would show. He came. And watched the crowd size. He was there to play if our turnout was low to help make it not a poorly attended event. Our turnout was great so he quietly went home for the night and came back the next day to play league in our usual crowd. He was a massive supporter of everything pinball in this state. If you were part of this community in this state and didn’t know him it’s a shame.
Sorry for the rambling and any typos. It’s been a rough few days and I’ve been waiting to say anything to the community until some of this stuff had been sorted.
-Jim[quoted image]
Jim and all,
I’m so sorry for your loss. Just found out about this.
When I first arrived at the Sanctum, in Dec of 2017, I was awestruck. I had no idea a pinball community and no idea tournaments existed. The next week, I sign up to play.
One of the many people I meet? Dave Tkacs. He of course beats me at a game he owned - Junkyard.
Me being completely new - he was kind enough to go over the rules a little and introduce me to a couple people around us.
I didn’t get to know him on a personal level, but over the next couple years, we’d have small talk and play against each other - a lot. He helped with a tech question whenever I had one.
He was most definitely young at heart. Making little jokes here and there - he was genuinely liked by all. Gone much much too soon.
I’m saddened to hear about his passing.
His impact on our local pinball community and the community at large has been tremendous.
Again, my best to his friends and family.
Eric
