Very sad loss for the pinball community and his family. I had the pleasure of knowing him as a close friend for many years, the passion of pinball ignited a friendship that had a lot of laughter and carry on. He pioneered the correct way of making stencils for the hobby, that is now a standard for everyone that makes them. He held the Gottlieb license for around 10 years. He had achieved a lot for the community with his restoration skills, boundless knowledge and passion for Woodrails and EMS and most importantly, he was a genuinely good bloke that was straight down the line.
He fought HARD to beat cancer. He tried a few unconventional methods that dumbfounded his oncologist. One of those, was his typical British Humor and the strong desire to prove them wrong. He was given until October, but every time we spoke, I reminded him that he is still with us. He told me his motivation was to "carve the Christmas Turkey, one more time". I reminded him of that when he sent me his last message on Christmas Day.
A very sad day. My condolences to his wife, Tracy, and his family. We will all miss him.
But in true Gavin form, here's a story I'd like to share - I called him years ago, and he didn't answer the phone. I got impatient, and called him back again - no answer. He called me back an hour later and calmly told me - "Hey Nino, next time, don't call me back like that - I'm up 40 floors hanging off a f%^&en ladder. I ain't gonna call you back. Okay"... From that time on, when I called him, and he didn't answer, I would not call him back. He would return the call and I'd say "WTF ? Are up the F$%^en ladder again ? " He laugh, I'd laugh.. and we would carry on.
Gonna miss you mate, I guess you are going up that ladder for the last time. But this time, straight to Heaven.
Rest In Peace my friend.
Topic: RIP Retropin (Read 5947 times)
