RIP: Bruce Pelz
May. 9th, 2002 11:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
johno{DAMN, DAMN, DAMN}
Bruce Pelz: Aug. 11, 1936 - May 9, 2002
Bruce Pelz, Fanzine Archivist, Fanhistorian, Fellow of NESFA, Worldcon Chair, "The Elephant," Fandom's Institutional Memory, passed away the evening of May 9th, 2002.
He fainted at about 6:00 pm. Elayne Pelz, his wife, called 9-1-1, they rushed him to the hospital. His heart stopped at the hospital. More details will be posted as they are available.
Bruce is survived by his wife Elayne, his daughter Cecy, and innumerable friends of all ages.
Elayne has requested that nobody try to contact her. She is secluded, she is not taking calls, her father and Jordan are taking care of her.
When Larry Niven announced this at the LASFS meeting tonight, there occurred the first and only instance of a spontaneous minute of silence in the club's history, as the fans in the room sat, stunned. The meeting was immediately adjourned. A memorial is being planned, details will be announced later.
Messages, reminiscences, et cetera may be posted to the following web address:
http://www.lasfs.org/lasfs/bruce/
Bruce Pelz: Aug. 11, 1936 - May 9, 2002
Bruce Pelz, Fanzine Archivist, Fanhistorian, Fellow of NESFA, Worldcon Chair, "The Elephant," Fandom's Institutional Memory, passed away the evening of May 9th, 2002.
He fainted at about 6:00 pm. Elayne Pelz, his wife, called 9-1-1, they rushed him to the hospital. His heart stopped at the hospital. More details will be posted as they are available.
Bruce is survived by his wife Elayne, his daughter Cecy, and innumerable friends of all ages.
Elayne has requested that nobody try to contact her. She is secluded, she is not taking calls, her father and Jordan are taking care of her.
When Larry Niven announced this at the LASFS meeting tonight, there occurred the first and only instance of a spontaneous minute of silence in the club's history, as the fans in the room sat, stunned. The meeting was immediately adjourned. A memorial is being planned, details will be announced later.
Messages, reminiscences, et cetera may be posted to the following web address:
http://www.lasfs.org/lasfs/bruce/
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no subject
Date: 2002-05-11 09:59 pm (UTC)Of all the conversations I've had with him over the years, the one that sticks in my head the most was the one about prune milkshakes.
When he was running the Palm Beach Westercon bid a few years ago, one of the "selling points" for LA-area fen was "prune milkshakes."
It turns out there's some place halfway between LA and Palm Springs that sells them. Just as Harris Ranch is almost a pilgrimage for anyone going between the bay area and LA area, the place with the prune milkshakes is a pilgrimage for folks going between LA and Palm Springs.
If I ever see one of those prune milkshakes (or a prune milkshake anywhere), I'll be thinking of Bruce.
Re:
Date: 2002-05-12 12:35 am (UTC)I think it'd please him. ;)
no subject
Date: 2002-05-15 03:44 am (UTC)I admittedly didn't know him as well as most of the LA fen, but he and I share (or shared) one major thing in common: a dislike of funerals. I can picture Bruce cringing at the thought of folks getting all mournful and dour at a service for him.