Our Moderator Robert Fowkes passed away last Friday, Sept 30, 2011 (1 Viewer)

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Adam Gregorich /t/315209/our-moderator-robert-fowkes-passed-away-last-friday/30#post_3857540
You remind me a lot of RAF...

Gosh, Adam. Just the thought is humbling. But thank you.

That's extremely generous...but I've got a long way to go.

 

[DaveF]

I'm sorry to hear of RAF's passing. We chatted a little bit in some of his threads, and I really liked his passion and depth of knowledge on his topics.

 

[Vegas 1]

RIP Robert, you will most definitely be missed.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

As I lost my dad 10 years ago last month to the horrible disease that is pancreatic cancer, I understand the battles waged and the challenges faced, and my heart goes out to RAF's family and friends. He will be missed.
RIP, my friend.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Sorry to double-post, but knowing that Sandy and the Fowkes family are reading this: My family and I offer our deepest condolences to you. We'll always cherish our memories of Robert and be proud to have called him our friend.

 

[Adam_WM]

Never knew Mr. Fawkes, but knew his name from these forums. From all the above posts, he will certainly be missed by more than just the posters on this site.
RIP, sir.

 

[Josh Dial]

Without any word of a lie, RAF was the reason I joined this forum, and in many ways, this hobby.

RIP, doctor.

 

[Adam Barratt]

RAF was always a great friend, and always willing to help with his encyclopaedic knowledge of cinema and technology. I'm glad that our paths crossed over the last decade, if sadly never in person. I will miss him. Rest in peace.
Adam

 

[Hanson]

I only just found out about RAF's passing. I had known he was sick, but it's still quite a shock. RAF was the first person on HTF to go out of his way to compliment me on my American Idol reviews. I don't think I would have continued with it in the direction I went if it weren't for RAF. I am glad that I was able to tell him so when I found out he was sick.

RAF always wrote, "Yoo da man!"

RAF, YOU da man. A great man.

Condolences to his family and loved ones. RAF will be missed.

 

[Bob McLaughlin]

Just finding out about this today, and I'm saddened. RAF was one of the great ones. If the HTF had a Mt. Rushmore his face would be right up there. His presence and expertise on this board helped to create this great HTF culture we all get to share in. My condolences to his family in your time of loss.

 

[Carlo_M]

To the Fowkes family and friends: my deepest condolences. RAF was one of the most respected and liked gentlemen (and I hardly use that word to describe people these days) on the HTF. He will be sorely missed, but please know that you all will be in our thoughts and prayers.

 

[NYSandy]

It is so nice to see all the posts, those of you who knew RAF personally have a story, everyone else has plenty of reading material here on the forum and if you spend some time checking it out you will feel like you know him personally.
Some of you may be aware RAF had a goal to attend CEDIA last month; it was the only goal he had set during his illness he was unable to keep. He fought pancreatic cancer they way he lived life, with a positive outlook, endless energy and determination.
Like some of you and unlike Bob I am not a writer, but I could not sit back and see all of these posts without a response. This helps with the grief more than you all know, I am sharing the forum with everyone. The Home Theater Forum was a tremendous part of his life, one of his many passions.
The service for RAF aka Bob was a tribute to a life well lived and a man well respected, loved and admired by so many. Bob’s daughter Liz did a remarkable job displaying in photos and a video (previously created for Bob’s 65th birthday) Bob’s life.
Ron and Mike came to pay respects and represent Home Theater Forum which was appreciated by RAF’s family. Thank you both very much.
The flowers sent by HTF were very appropriately used below the projection screen showing a continuous loop of the video Liz prepared.

We though it might be appropriate to send RAF to his final resting place with one of his many universal remote controls so he could control the universe forever. Ba...Da...Bing!
I have had a wonderful experience with this forum as Bob’s companion, met the greatest people from all over the world and shared some of the happiest times of my life and I want to thank you all for that. I am a member so you will see me here keeping up with the latest movie reviews and staying connected with friends. Sandy

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Rest in Peace, RAF. I do not believe we ever engaged on the HTF, and certainly not outside of it, but based on the many stories of you by your friends, it is clear you certainly contributed to this board and it's welcoming and enthusiastic tone. Thank you very much, and more than you could know.
To RAF's family, my deepest sympathies and warmest thoughts.
Sincerely,
Chuck

 

[Jim_C]

I never met RAF but always enjoyed reading his posts. A true loss for HTF and anyone who knew him.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Like a lot of you here, I first encountered RAF on the old Consumer Electronics Forum on Compuserve, when Laserdisc was king and dinosaurs ruled the Earth. In those days it still looked like there was going to be a format war between competing 5.25" movie discs from Sony and Phillips, and the FCC still seemed years away from moving on an HD/Digital TV standard. Say hello to the guy who bought an analog 16:9 TV and a bunch of laserdiscs just before both problems resolved themselves and we moved on to DVD and HDTV. (With a brief hiccup for the original DiVX, which wasn't a video codec.)
RAF helped me navigate those turbulant waters, even getting me to understand the difference between "anamorphic" as it applied to film and "anamorphic" as it applied to video. (I stil have my anamorpic LD copy of "The Fugitive", which came with my Toshiba widescreen TV.) Eventually I followed RAF, Ron, Parker and the rest over to the world wide web and The Home Theater Forum, and I've been here ever since.
Over the years Bob and I found out that we had other things besides our HT hobby in common - computers, the town of Ossining, where I grew up and the Hudson valley, a shared religious faith. (Two, if you count devotion to the NY Yankees. ) I've sometimes wondered if I might have met him in passing back in the 70s, when his late wife, Therese, taught at Ossining High School. I never took any of her classes, but I knew her through friends who did, and just from being around campus. Did Bob and I ever nod a greeting at a football game? Did he accompany her to any of the shows we did? Impossible to know. Hard not to care.
I'm glad I DID have the chance to meet him (and Ron, Parker, Crawdaddy and so many others) at my one-and-only HTF Meet in L.A. in 2000. Of course he was one of the Elder Statesman of the group, and like the other staff there very busy with the event itself, so I was reluctant to impose on his time too much - not that he ever treated it as an imposition. He was a gentleman in both senses of the word. The world could use more people like him, and I will miss him, as will the forum.
I'm very grateful that Ron and Mike were able to be there to represent all the many Friends of RAF, real and virtual, who wanted to be there, but couldn't. Although it has been more than twenty years since I've been back in Ossining, I can see so many of the places you would have been in my mind's eye. St. Augustine's church with its view of the Hudson, and the leaves turning now, I'd imagine. (Always "new" St. Augustine's to me. All my family's milestones, from my First Communion to my sister's wedding, were celebrated at the old church downtown.) The cemetary is still where it always was, of course, in a lovely sheltered valley tucked between the hill where the Middle School stands and Hawkes Avenue, where my friends and I did very dumb things on our bicycles or sleds, according to the season. I remember it as a beautiful and peaceful spot, and I hope it brings some comfort to those who take the time to visit RAF in years to come.
Maybe the Yankees can do their part to honor Bob, and win the Series for him. I know that he'd like that. (The other night, when the Tiger's catcher slipped on the Yankees logo on the on-deck circle and missed an easy pop-up I wondered if Bob hadn't found a way to give him a nudge. It would be like him to figure out the mechanics of something like that in a couple of days. Maybe he reprogrammed that remote Sandy mentioned. )
Joe

 

[DeWilson]

Sad

 

[ToddF]

I'm very sorry to read this. My condolences to his family and friends.

 

[MomOfTwins]

Thanks for your post, Sandy, and the picture of the flowers --- glad if they brought some cheer. The idea of the universal remote going with Bob is JUST PERFECT, , Ba-Da-Bing is right!
Ron & Mike, thanks for representing us all in person.
Annette

 

[Ron-P]

WOW, I just saw this and don't even have the words. RIP my friend you will be greatly missed.

 

[Chris S]

Very shocked and saddened to hear of RAF's passing. My condolences to his family. I had many a wonderful conversation with him on the forum and he will be deeply missed.