The Passing of a Great Man
Posted by Cerdwyn on February 09 2014 14:07:00
[see 2/10/2014 addition at end of post re: commemorative item - click read more]
When I was a junior immortal, DaWiz was the boggie man. He was the keeper of the code of Avatar, rarely seen on channels, and I was terrified of him. He was the one that when a new immortal made host, gave the speech about not breaking things and when you inevitably did something stupid and the mud crashed, you felt about 2 inches tall. He really wasn’t mean. But we so didn’t want to disappoint him.
Later, one day, we bonded over a gemstone - specifically over reddish man-made corundum, or a man-made ruby. He had found this place that made them so that they were perfect but they were technically still rubies or sapphires (any color of corundum other than pinkish red). He eventually had this really awesome piece made for his wife and I saw it (in pictures at least) before she did. It was beautiful.
We later met at an Ubercon, one of the latter ones, where Kariya drug me over to introduce the peace loving hippy (me) to the gun toting redneck (DaWiz) (those were pretty close to Kariya’s words, if I am not mistaken.) I was by this time long past being afraid of him and proud to call him friend.
He worked diligently and hard to keep avatar’s code clean. He designed and created the first mobprog. And he created the hero quest otherwise known as The Ultimate Dragon.
On February 9, 2014, slightly after midnight local time, Glen Vaughn, who we all knew as DaWiz, left this world. He passed away from lung cancer, in his own words, brought upon by over 50 years of smoking. He leaves behind his family, and his first grandchild born last year. And he leaves behind his Avatar family, who over more than 18 years learned to love and respect him.
Requiescat in pace my friend. The Summerland is better place with you there. And I’m sure you will keep the code clean and the servers running smoothly.
For the Immortal Team - Past and Present
Cerdwyn
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Extended News
DaWiz was as much a part of Avatar as gains, gear and the UD. To commemorate his life and his many contributions, we've created a (lord level tank) manifest item. You'll need a lodestone and 1 diamond, 1 ruby, 3 emeralds, 2 amethysts.
After embedding the gems, type c manifest lodestone "dawiz's sceptre of might"
Make sure you get the quotes correct.
Enjoy.
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His formal obituary.
Glenn Vaughn, 72, passed away peacefully at home on February 9, 2014 after a lengthy illness. Mr. Vaughn was a two-term Councilman with the City of Canon City, serving from 01/1992 through 12/1999. He was born January 12, 1942 in San Francisco, California but moved frequently since his father was in the US Navy. His most vivid childhood memories were of life in Guantanamo City, Cuba, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Glenn learned to drive at 12 and enjoyed regaling audiences with his racing stories. He was an amateur radio operator, avid fly-fisherman, excellent hunter, and all round good guy. He began work at 15—delivering coal & ice, enlisted in the US Navy at 17, and was later involved in many ventures such as owning a poker club, flying for Buzzard Airlines, and teaching roller skating, but devoted most of the last fifty years to designing & maintaining computer software programs. In 1988, he married Rona Brostrom and they picked Canon City as the best place to live, quit their jobs with the City of Palo Alto in California, and bought a Victorian home on Greenwood Avenue. The next year, Glenn took a programming job with the Colorado Community College System, and retired in April 2013 to devote more time to his business DaWiz & Associates, which will continue under his son’s direction. Glenn took great pride in being an excellent provider and is survived by his beloved wife Rona, son Glenn (Veda) Vaughn Junior, step-daughter Sonia (Kelly) Doupe’, grandchildren Ella, Ian & Caleb Doupe’ and Garrett Vaughn, and brother, Mike. He was preceded in death by his parents. Memorial Services will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2014, at 11:00 A.M., at the United Presbyterian Church, 701 Macon Ave, Canon City, with honors provided by the Royal Gorge Detachment of the Marine Corps League.