Joseki

 

Joseki passed away in January, 2012.  Unfortunately, I didn't know Joseki very well.  We had talked on the forums, of course, but I didn't really know him well enough to write something special enough.   So, I turned to our friend, Miketroll, for his thoughts.

"To my regret, I never met Matthew in real life, but his online presence always made me think of him as a friend. He loved to share a joke, but even more than that he was passionate about building a better world. He was enormously intelligent and knowledgeable, happy to talk about life, politics, science, religion with anyone, and always showed respect for others, never treating them with anything less than kindness.

Matthew was a wonderful man. He is greatly missed on the Bookcrossing forum and by his Facebook friends."

Thank you Mike.  I'm sorry that I didn't know him better.

The Joseki bookshelf 

Killimengri

I didn't know Killimengri, so I asked her fellow Irish BookCrosser, Sirroy, to share his thoughts on her.

From Sirroy:  "Our friend Killi was unique. In her own words she said she was a "mad smallholder living on a mountain, miles from anywhere".  She had a small holding with chickens, ducks, geese, horses, ferrets, cats & dogs. She described herself as an occasional artist & designer.

 Killi had three children, one married, one engaged and one living with her who was a truly remarkable and beautiful young lady.

Killi (real name Suzye) had a traumatic and difficult life. She had hemiplegia. She shared stories that would make you shake your head and wonder what was the world coming to. She never complained about any of it.  Her humility and gentle nature shone through everything she wrote.  If support or advice was needed she never let a Facebook, Livejournal or Yahoo post go without a comment or a piece of advice.

Killi was not terribly active in Bookcrossing but somehow she hooked up with the Irish Bookcrossing Group on Yahoo where I think she felt safe amongst friends and kindred spirits. Memorably she joined us on an outing to Cork in February 2007.

Because of her remoteness and lack of basics like TV and electricity it was not unusual not to hear from Killi from time to time.  It was therefore the most enormous shock to us all when we went to post on her Facebook page on her birthday in March to discover that she had died in a house fire on 17th January 2011, only hours after she had posted about going to feed her beloved horses."


Wren again.  From the things I've read and heard about her, I can tell that she was a special person and is greatly missed.


The Killimengri Bookshelf

Oi-reader

We lost our friend, Oi--reader, in November, 2010.  She was a gardener,  an avid reader, and a friend to many other BookCrossers.  I am hearing so many stories of her generosity, strength, and wit.  When she shared her diagnosis with the forum, it was with optimism and courage.  Her battle touched hearts, and many people sent her care boxes to cheer her up.  Jules-Paige shared this note from her, "My fellow BookCrossers have been wonderfully supportive through this. Cards, e-mail, PM's, packages etc often find there way to me at my lowest moments...Thank you for keep me in your thoughts and prayers!"   She touched many lives here and will be remembered with great fondness.

The Oi-reader Bookshelf

N-R-Jyzer

On August 30, 2010, ResQgeek and his wife lost their beautiful, spirited 9 year old daughter, and Purplypup her beloved little sister,  when she was struck by a car while riding her bicycle.  Becky was not yet a very active member of BookCrossing, but she was eager to participate and loved books and reading (in spite of her mild learning disabilities).

Her BookCrossing screen name was N-R-Jyzer, which they chose because she was full of energy and just kept going and going and going..., just like the Energizer Bunny.  She was an outgoing and loving person, someone who never met a stranger and was always ready with a hug for anyone.  She charmed everyone, and even before August, I had heard BookCrossers who had met her in real life mention her joyous outlook and enchanting smile. 

 

She was born on Valentine's Day and her personality was shaped by that holiday.  Her favorite colors were red and pink, and hearts were her favorite shape.  Her tragic death has left a huge hole in her family's lives and in our BookCrossing  community.

 

In honor of Becky and her love of hugs, her family has started a Facebook page called Becky's Hugs, a place to share your hug stories.  They ask that we honor her memory by, well, I can't say it as well as her family, so with their permission, I will just copy what they wrote.

"As a living memorial to her love and life, her family is asking people to "Live her love by sharing Becky's hugs". This page is dedicated to promoting this effort and to sharing stories of how Becky's love continues to spread through the sharing of her hugs. Post your stories about Becky's life and/or how you've lived her love by sharing her hugs or how her love lives on in and through you."

 

The N-R Jyzer Bookshelf 

Pennina

Thanksmom and Pennina had been weekly penpals for several years, after meeting online through BookCrossing. She has written this lovely memorial, and I appreciate her letting me use it here. 

"In Richard Bach’s book Illusions there is a special message about family: “The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.” This best describes my feelings about a friend I met on-line at Bookcrossing yet never met in person. Pennina, or more properly Eleanor or “Candy”, and I had a friendship that stretched beyond many boundaries. She and I wrote weekly letters for over 5 years. Living in different countries, Candy in England and me in the US, and having a 10 year gap in age was never an issue, just differences to be explored. We wrote about friends and family, likes and dislikes, mundane everyday things, and a wide range of common interests that actually required research to expand on. Candy liked to challenge people, which sometimes didn’t work so well in on-line posts but was extremely enjoyable in our correspondence. I miss my friend Candy and I do indeed feel as if she were family. Even if we never managed to sit together face to face I did feel as if we knew each other and my only regret is that our planned meeting in 2010 will now never be."

Pennina was a vital and interesting part of the BookCrossing community, and we miss her there.

The PenninaBookshelf

Bumma

I never got to meet Bumma, but as with so much of BookCrossing, that never seemed to matter. Through her daughter Bookczuk's lovely Bumma Stories, I knew her. And I called her a friend. 

If I had to write one sentence that reminded me of Bumma, it would be, "I came, I saw, I conquered". It's very apt for many areas of her life. She certainly conquered the heart of Eli, her beloved husband and soulmate. It applies to her education, when she accomplished many things in a field many women had yet to conquer. It was true for the medical issues that she dealt with for much of her adult life. And it applies to many of us in BookCrossing. Her wit and charm earned her friends around the world. 

It was a life well-lived. .

Bumma's obituary in the Charleston paper.

The Bumma Bookshelf

Snowshoee

Snowshoee left us far too soon. Many of us didn't know her while she was an active BookCrosser. However, after she got sick, her fellow BookCrossers in Portugal, kept us informed of her progress. Through this, many of us learned to care for this lovely young woman as she fought the battle for her life.

Her family and friends started a blog for her, Querida Snowshoee. Many of the posts have been translated to English, and you can read her letter to those she feared she was leaving behind. (Note: This blog is still online as of this date, November 2, 2010. If at some point in the future you notice that the link doesn't work, please let me know.

I guess the part that resonated with me was her last sentence, "Fight for the animals, fight for people, fight for this world ..." If we all remember her wishes, it's a nice legacy.


The Snowshoee Bookshelf


A Snowshoee deixou-nos demasiado cedo. Muitos de nós não a conhecemos quando era BookCrosser activa. No entanto, depois de ela adoecer, os BookCrossers portugueses mantiveram-nos informados sobre o seu progresso. Devido a isso, muitos de nós aprendemos a gostar desta jovem adorável que travava uma batalha pela vida.
Os seus familiares e amigos fundaram um blog, Querida Snowshoee, onde podemos ler a carta que ela escreveu para os que receava deixar. (Nota: o blog continua online nesta data, October 11, 2009. Se algures no futuro verificarem que o link não funciona, informem-me, por favor.)
Creio que a parte que mais me tocou foi a sua última frase: 'Lutem pelos animais, lutem pelas pessoas, lutem por este mundo...' Se todos recordarmos os seus desejos, é um bom legado.

Bookshelf da Snowshoee

Special thanks to Marcenda for the translation and the picture.

Twiggywig

Twiggywig joined BookCrossing in 2004. She was an active participant in BookCrossing and BookObsessed. She had such an active and interesting life that it's hard to summarize in a few words.

Her son, Bookcrosser Peterwortham, said that she loved her family, dogs, roses, and books. She was a champion rose grower and had won awards for her skills, as well as being an accomplished sculpter, and a teacher.

Her family has posted a lovely memorial to her here.

The Twiggywig Bookshelf 

Yellow-Star

 

We lost our friend, Yellow-Star, of Belgium, on October 28, 2008, at the too-young age of 19. She was an active member of the Dutch forum and very creative with her book releases. 

Her father, Paps, is taking over her bookshelf in her honor. 

In the words of fellow BookCrosser, Talamasca, "She will now take her place in the sky and twinkle forever."

The Yellow-Star Bookshelf

Jmg49

One of jmg49's children posted this message in the forums. 

"This message is to anyone who knew jmg49. His name was John. He is my father and he hasn't been on here for a while. This is because he passed away on March 12 of a heart attack. He loved reading and bookcrossing and he came on here quite frequently. This was something he really enjoyed and he will be greatly missed. He had a great sense of humour and cherished the relationships he had with people in his life. I just thought that I should post something on here in his memory. Thank you for helping make his life enjoyable."

Jmg49 was an active forum participant, and his kindness, wisdom, and friendliness will linger in our memory. He is missed.

The Jmg49 Bookshelf