One of the core and founding members of the Our Beloved Ducks forum was 30Duck, who up to about eight months ago--posted many times each day. He could not continue due to a variety of issues surrounding health and home-tech issues, but I spoke to him on the phone a couple of times a week. He was a passionate Oregon fan, and we had such fun discussing the current team, and so many teams of the past.

30Duck died recently at only age 66, and I can still hardly believe it. It was very sudden, thus why I sense it was probably related to his heart challenges over the years. He would call in his weekly score prediction to be listed among them all, although I had not heard much from him as the season wound down. There are a couple of items that are notable about him, and I wanted to share with you...

30Duck was a big fan of music in the 70s and 80s, and he would post a music video by Olivia Newton-John on a regular basis. We would laugh about changing the words in one of her songs to..."Hopelessly Devoted to....DUCKS." He would post many songs of that era during the off-season (like now) to lift the mood, and give us something to discuss and be entertained with.

You may recall how he was a big fan of the US Navy, as he served for many years on the USS Nimitz Aircraft Carrier, and he had some dandy stories about all the people and experiences over the long time that he served. And boy...did he ever see the world with the way those carrier groups moved about after they left port.

He had an impact with his own contributions to the forum, as it was he who began the term, "PREVENT-OFFENSE" to describe the drudging Cristobal time in Eugene. It was so accurate, and so perfect a moniker. He is also the one who came up with the unique slogan for this message board, as he was the first to call it the, "Forum-with-Decorum." So true, and he epitomized that label.

In the beginning of the forum...we all were learning how to gradually pull our fangs/claws in, as we realized that we did not need to personally attack each other to make our points. It was he who put many of the ideas in my head about how to focus on hearing all opinions, and not allowing the venomous bluster that occurs on other boards. More than once in those early days--he would get viciously attacked, and I would deal with it in the background.

But in public--he was all-class, and I admired him for handling those situations so well. As someone who has lost-his-head a few times--his example was just what I needed to model my forum conduct after, and hence the rules were shaped by his input.

One of those rules concerned how we never discuss politics, and his internal strength was a great demonstration for all of us. I have lost many friends over just being politically different, as I did not want to press anything with them, but some could not endure the thought of the forum operated by someone so politically different. 30Duck and I were on opposite ends of the political spectrum--and once we realized that, we agreed to never discuss politics again. He taught me that the friendship was more important...

Why was he called 30Duck? Because he loved Ronnie Lee back in his days at Oregon, and you can see in the photo above the number that Ronnie Lee wore. He found that cool picture of Lee laying the ball up over the late Bill Walton, and that photo was his avatar. He knew the teams of old so well, and I so enjoyed hearing the stories about Mac Court back-in-the-day from him. He was one of those who camped out at night for a student ticket prior to a big game, and no surprise. He was a great Oregon fan!

The Duck-Angels wept as they lifted 30Duck from the earth, and took him to his final destination. They are not the only ones, as I loved and I miss this wonderful Duck-Buddy.

Rest in Peace, my friend.

A beautiful tribute. Thank you.

Fantastic tribute. Sorry for your loss Charles and for the forum.