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.

Godspeed (however you perceive "to be") 30Duck. Godspeed.

Thanks for the tribute Charles.

Very nice Eulogy Mr. FishDuck. RIP 30 Duck you made a contribution. A reminder to all of us who will attend a "Celebration of Life" sometime this year. If a friend is seriously ill, go see them right now rather than waiting for a "Celebration of Life" because sad to say, they will not be in attendance.

A wonderful tribute.

RIP 30Duck. ❤️

39 minutes ago, Santa Rosa Duck said:

Very nice Eulogy Mr. FishDuck. RIP 30 Duck you made a contribution. A reminder to all of us who will attend a "Celebration of Life" sometime this year. If a friend is seriously ill, go see them right now rather than waiting for a "Celebration of Life" because sad to say, they will not be in attendance.

So true. How I wish I could have given my friend a hug...

Cherish our moments with each other.

All respect and gratitude to 30Duck. He will be missed here and 100 times more to those closest to him, I am sure.

Not really much else to say that hasn't already been said...30Duck was a great Oregon supporter and wonderful part of the FishDuck community, he will be very much missed. Thanks Charles to posting this.

Thanks Charles for a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to 30Duck. I never knew why '30Duck' was his moniker until today. Knowing that great Ronnie Lee was the impetus behind it, for me, only makes his name all the better.

Charles -- You mentioned that you thought his passing may likely be due to a heart issue. As someone who out of nowhere found himself having triple-bypass open-heart surgery about 15 months ago, I've kind of become a major league evangelist in encouraging those of us over 50 (men & women), to get a simple, non-invasive, cardiac stress test -- especially if cardiac issues run in your family.

Prior to my cardiac stress test, I had absolutely no idea that I had any sort of a heart issue. Then I found out I had 90% blockage in two of the three main arteries to the heart, and 70% in the other one. At that time, I was truly a dead man walking.

And while it is still, of course, major surgery, the medical industry really has this stuff down. I got a new lease on life and I'm probably good to go for another 30 years (well... that would put me at 94, so something else will probably get me before then 😅).

Sorry to go off on this, but there's so much that can be done today, if we find out we have a problem.

Thanks again, Charles, for sharing. My condolences to you, to his family, and other friends.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by Desert Duck

Thanks for sharing Charles....