Worldcon 76 In Memoriam List

Author H.A. Hargreaves (b.1928) died on July 27. Hargreaves began publishing short fiction in 1963 with “Tee Vee Man.” He published additional work occasionally through the 1970s and collected his first six stories in North by 2000 in 1976, publishing an expanded version of the collection in 2012.

Author Jack Wodhams (b.1931) died on August 3. Wodhams began publishing SF in 1967 and mostly focused on short fiction, occasionally using the name Trudy Rose and sometimes in collaboration with Paul Collins. He published three novels, including The Authentic Touch, looking for Blücher, and Ryn.

 Fan Gregg Calkins died on August 5. Calkins was active in APAs and fanzines since the 1950s and had letters published in Astounding, Fantastic Story, Science Fiction Review, and other magazines. He published the poem “Poetry Leaflet” in Fanfare in 1958. He edited the fanzine OOPSLA and his fanzine The Rambling Fap was part of FAPA.

 Author Mark Merlis (b.1950) died on August 15. Merlis’s fantasy novel An Arrow’s Flight received the Lambda Award in 1999. His other novels were not of genre interest. He died from pneumonia associated with ALS.

 Editor Diane Pearson (b.1931) died on August 15. Pearson started working for Jonathan Cape when she was 16 and went on to become a senior editor at Transworld. She received the 1994 British Book Editor of the Year Award. Pearson published the first paperbacks of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.

Artist Kim Poor (b.1952) died on August 16. Poor’s space art appeared in Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, Omni, and other astronomy-focused magazines. He was commissioned to produce art for the National Air & Space Museum. In 1987, he led a delegation of space artists who displayed their work in Moscow to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sputnik, which led to a series of joint workshops between US and Soviet space artists. Poor served as the first president of the International Association of Astronomical Artists (IAAA), which he co-founded with Michael Carroll and Rick Sternbach. He ran Novaspace Galleries.

 Scientist Paul Doherty (b.1948) died on August 18. Doherty worked at San Francisco’s Exploratorium and collaborated with Pat Murphy on science column for F&SF. The two also collaborated on the 2016 short story “Cold Comfort,” published in the anthology Bridging Infinity.

Swedish fan Lars Helander (b.1939) died in mid-August. Helander published the fanzine Sfaira in English in the 1950s, making himself one of the first internationally known Swedish fans. After leaving fandom, he became a television producer

Author Brian W. Aldiss (b.1925) died on August 19, the day after his 92nd birthday. Aldiss was the author of Supertoys Last All Summer Long, the “Helliconia” trilogy, Non-Stop, and Frankenstein Unbound. He won the Hugo Award for short fiction for his collection Hothouse and for related work for his non-fiction history of the field Trillion Year Spree, and updating of his own Billion Year Spree. His novella “The Saliva Tree” won the Nebula Award Aldiss was named SFWA Grand Master in 2000. Aldiss was twice honored as a Worldcon Guest of Honor, in London in 1965 and Brighton in 1979. he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2004. Aldiss received an OBE in 2005.

 Author Tim Poston (b.1945) died on August 22. Potson co-wrote the Living Labyrinth and Rock Star with Ian Stewart. A third book in the series is planned.

Chicago fan Catarina Pryde died on September 5. from cancer Pryde was a frequent attendee of Chicago area conventions.

Chinese academic Haiyan Xu died on September 6 in a diving accident. Xu, who used the pen name denovo translated the works of Charles Stross, Robert Heinlein, Nancy Kress, and William Gibson into Chinese. She held a Ph.D. in genetic science from Columbia University.

Author Jerry Pournelle (b.1933) died on September 8. Pournelle won the first John W. Campbell Award for Best New Author in 1973, the same year he published his first novel and was elected President of SFWA. In addition to his own novels, he co-wrote many novels with Larry Niven, often with other authors as well, including Inferno, The Mote in God’s Eye, and Lucifer’s Hammer. The novel Fallen Angels, which he co-wrote with Niven and Michael F. Flynn, received the Seiun and Prometheus Awards. Pournelle also edited several anthology series, including War World, which allowed other authors to write in his universe, and There Will Be War.

 Comic book writer Len Wein (b.1948) died on September 10. Wein co-created the characters Wolverine, Storm, and Swamp Thing. In addition, he worked on numerous other comics for both DX and Marvel. He served as the editor in chief for Marvel’s color-comics line in 1974 and later served as editor in chief for Disney Comics. Wein was married to Christine Valada. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008, won the Inkpot Award and the Comic Fan Art Award for Pro Writer and Comic Buyer’s Guide Fan Award for Best Editor.

 Artist Basil Gogos (b.1949) died on September 14. Gogos painted numerous portraits of monsters which were used on the covers of Famous Monsters of Filmland. He turned his attention to fine art, but later painted covers for CDs. He received the 2006 Rondo Hatton Horror Award.

 Author Charles H. King (b.1939) died on September 15. Using the name H. Charles Blair, King published the short story “The Rememberers” in Future Science fiction Stories in 1952. He published non-sf under his own name. King was a member of the Trap Door Spiders with Isaac Asimov, L. Sprague de Camp, Lester del Rey, Lin Carter, and Theodore Sturgeon.

 Fan Dave E Romm (b.1955) died around September 15/6. Dave was active in Minneapolis fandom and was an avid photographer, taking pictures of various Minicons and other conventions he was able to get to. He traveled to Antarctic in 2005 and wrote about his experience in Argentus. He also hosted Shockwave Radio Theatre on KFAI-AM and archived the podcasts on his website. Romm became a baron of the micro-country of Ladonia in 2001.

 Fan Keith Marshall (b.1962) died on September 16.  Marshall was a member of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society and was active in historical re-enactment, participating in the Markland Medieval Mercenary Militia and the Longship Company.

 Fan Andy England (b.1954) died on September 22. England helped out at the Fantasy Centre, both at the story and when they were in dealers rooms. He served as an art auctioneer at conventions and was an avid book and magazine collector.

Author Harvey Jacobs (b.1930) died on the evening of September 23 from an infection while being treated for brain cancer. Jacobs began publishing fiction in 1951 with the story “A Wind Age.” He focused on the short story length throughout the 60s and 70s, publishing his first novel, The Juror, in 1980. He also published Beautiful Soup and Side Effects. His novel American Goliath was nominated for the World Fantasy Award. his fiction was collected in The Egg of the Glak and My Rose & My Glove.

Author and critic Charles Osborne (b.1927) died on September 23. Osbourne served as the Director of the UK Arts Council and among his books was The Bram Stoker Bedside Companion and Kafka. He was overseeing the Arts Council when Interzone was awarded its council grant.

Author Kit Reed (b.Lillian Craig Reed, 1932) died on September 24 from an inoperable brain tumor. Reed published her first short story, “The Wait” in 1958 and she was nominated for a Hugo for Best New Author of 1958, a forerunner to the John W. Campbell Award. Her short fiction has appeared in both genre and mainstream magazines and has been collected in ten collections over the years. She was nominated for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award three times and received the ALA Alex Award for Thinner Than Thou. Her novel Where was a John W. Campbell Memorial Award finalist. Reed was a Guggenheim Fellow and Resident Writer at Wesleyan University. Reed’s most recent novel, Mormama, was published earlier this year.

Editor and critic Digby Diehl (b.1940) died on September 26. Diehl is best known for his collaborations with celebrities on their autobiographies. He also wrote Tales from the Crypt; The Official Archives, an exploration of EC Comics and served as a book columnist for Playboy.

Publisher Hugh Hefner (b.1926) died on September 27. Hefner was best known as the publisher of Playboy, which published science fiction throughout its history, including works by Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, J.G. Ballard, Doris Lessing, and other major science fiction authors. In addition to the magazine, Playboy published The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Galaxy, Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction.

Los Angeles fan Milt Stevens (b.1942) died on October 2. Stevens was active in LASFS, serving in most of the clubs offices at various times. He was worked at numerous conventions and chaired LA 2000 (the first LosCon), Westercon 33, and LA Con II, the largest Worldcon based on on-site numbers. Stevens published several fanzines over the years, including APAzines All Digression Weekly, Crypt of Ennui, Opus, and others. He received the Evans-Freehafer Award in 1971 and was Guest of Honor at Loscon 9 in 1982 and Westercon 61 in 2008.

Chicago area fan Bill Surrett (b.c.1947) died on October 2. Surrett attended and volunteered at several Midwestern conventions, including Windycon, Capricon, and Chicon. He could often be seen working in the dealers room at the various conventions.

LA fan Dian Crayne (b.Dian Girard, 1942) died on October 4. Crayne was a member of LASFS and the group Future Unbounded, which was formed to run F-UNCon in 1968 and the 1969 Westercon. In 1964, she published The Game of Fandom, a board game about fandom at the time which included references to several active fans. In the 1960s, she was married to Bruce Pelz and their divorce party inspired Larry Niven’s story “What Can You Say About Chocolate Covered Manhole Covers.” She subsequently was married to Chuck Crayne until his death in 2009.

Finnish academic Jenni Tyynelä died on October 4 following a battle with cancer. Tyynelä was a scholar at the University of Tampere in Finland and was working on her PhD. She was active in Finnish SF study circles and was an attendee at conventions and academic conferences, including ICFA in Orlando, FL.

Bookseller Paul Day (b.Jean-Paul Breault-Day, 1937) died around October 6. Day worked as a chemist, but from 1978 to 1984 in Adelaide, Australia. After leaving the bookstore, Day turned his back on science fiction.

British fan Gerald Bishop died on October 9. Bishop, who also went by Ye Gerbish, was active in the early 1970s, attending London First Tuesday meetings, working as a projectionist at conventions, and publishing the fanzine Howl of Feedback from 1971-1974.

Author ElizaBeth A. Gilligan died on October 9 following a battle with cancer. Gilligan began publishing in 1990 with the short story “Evolution.” Her Silken Magic trilogy beginning with Magic’s Silken Snare was published by DAW Books from 2003-2017. She also edited the anthology Alterna-Teas. She wrote a column for Midnight Zoo in the early 90s and served as Secretary for SFWA from 2002-2003.

Astronomer and author Yoji Kondo (b.1933) died on October 9. Kondo served as the president of various commissions for the International Astronomical Union and headed the astrophysics lab at the Johnson space center during the Apollo and Skylab missions. He published several astronomy books. In addition, Kondo wrote science fiction using the name Eric Kotani and edited Requiem: New Collected Works by Robert A. Heinlein.

Author Julian May (b.1931) died on October 17. May entered fandom in her late teens and published the fanzine Interim Newsletter. Her first professional sale, “Dune Roller,” appeared in Astounding in 1951, including original illustrations by May. In 1952, she chaired the TASFIC in Chicago, becoming the first woman to chair a Worldcon. She married author Ted Dikty in 1953 and sold the story “Star of Wonder” before dropping out of science fiction and fandom for several years. With the exceptions of two episodes of the “Buck Rogers” comic strip, she focused on writing for encyclopedias and non-fiction books under a variety of pseudonyms. In 1972, “Dune Roller” was filmed as The Cremators. She returned to science fiction in 1976 when she attended Westercon 29. The costume she wore at the convention made her start thinking about the character’s background and grew into the six book Galactic Milieu series. She also wrote the four-book Saga of the Pliocene Exile and collaborated on the Trillium series with Marion Zimmer Bradley and Andre Norton. Health issues prevented May from participating in a panel with the living chairs of the other Chicago Worldcons in 2012, and in 2015 she was inducted into the First Fandom Hall of Fame.

Folklorist Iona Opie (b.1923) died on October 23. Opie, along with her husband Peter, published The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, The Classic Fairy Tales, and other studies of popular folklore. In 1999, she received the CBE.

Fan D. Potter died on October 25. Potter was an active fan in the 1980s, hosting fannish gatherings and fanzine publications at her apartment. In 1982, she was the fan Guest of Honor at Balticon 16. She served as the Official Editor of the apazine Mixed Company as well as others.

Chicago Fan Ben Solon (b.1946) died on October 26. In addition to attending Chicago area conventions, Solon published the fanzine Nyarlathotep. Solon helped stock the consuite for Ditto 14 in Bloomington, IL in 2001.

Game designer Michael Satran died on October 28 from a brain tumor. Satran Began gaming in 1979 and worked as a designer for Hero Systems, publishing several sourcebooks and modules for the Champions system. He also created the Iron Sky RPG.

Swedish critic Annika Johansson (b.1960) died on October 31. Johansson published various critical books and essays examining fantasy and horror including Worlds of Light, Worlds of Darkness, and Fantasy’s Forests.

Astronaut Dick Gordon (b.1929) died on November 6. Gordon made his first flight as pilot on Gemini 11 with Pete Conrad and performed an EVA that lasted nearly three hours. He later flew as the Command Module Pilot on Apollo 12 with Pete Conrad and Alan Bean. Prior to joining NASA, Gordon served as a Navy pilot. After leaving NASA, he served as an Executive Vice President of the New Orleans Saints and on a variety of boards. He also served as President of the Astro Science Corporation.

Author Gregory Bernard Banks (b.1965), who wrote as G.B.Banks, died on November 7. Banks wrote the Walkers series of Walking Dead parodies as well as Zombie George Washington and The Purifier’s Tale. Banks suffered from Osteogenesis Imperfecta.

Bookseller Lou Donato (b.1940) died on November 8. Donato and his wife, Myrna, co-founded and ran Amber Unicorn Books in Las Vegas in 1981. In addition to running the bookstore, they also had tables in many regional convention dealers’ rooms.

Fan Carl T. Ford died on November 13. In the 1980s, Ford published the fanzine Dagon, linking the H.P. Lovecraft literary and gaming communities. The zine eventually branched out to cover additional authors of the weird.

 Fan Bev Nicholas (b.1951) died on November 13.  Nicholas attended every Worldcon since 1983 and also stepped in to help on her local conventions when she saw something that needed to be done, for example, she organized a filk room for BayCon ‘97 when she realized that nobody else had taken on the task.

Author and illustrator Jill Barklem (b.1951) died on November 15. Originally an illustrator, after her husband suggested that she could also write, Barklem wrote the children’s series Brambly Hedge, which she also illustrated.

Seattle fan Randy Byers (b.1960) died on November 20. Byers co-edited the fanzine Chunga with Andy Hooper and Carl Juarez and won the 2007 Best Fanzine Hugo for Science Fiction Five-Yearly with co-editors Lee Hoffman and Geri Sullivan. He also edited Alternative Pants. Byers was the 2003 TAFF delegate to Seacon 03 in Britain.

Author John Gordon (b.1925) died on November 20. Gordon wrote young adult supernatural fiction, publishing fifteen novels, including The Edge of the World, Secret Corridor, and The Midwinter Watch.  He edited several anthologies of horror stories and his own stories were collected in four volumes.

Author Meg M. Justus (b.1959) died on November 22 from cancer. Justus, who published as M.M. Justus, wrote the Unearthly Northwest series, the Time in Yellowstone series, and other novels reflecting her interest in Western history and time travel.

Swedish fan Tommy Silverros (b.1961) died on November 24. Silverros was active in the MLSF (Malmö-Lund Science Fiction and Fantasy Association) and served as the organization’s Vice Chairman. Silverros was not only active in Swedish fandom, but also traveled throughout Europe enjoying conventions and promoting Swedish fandom.

Fan Perdita Boardman (b.Perdita Lilly, 1931) died on November 26. Lilly was first married to author Ray Nelson and in the 1960s married New York fan John Boardman. She hosted Lunarian meetings, ran the con suite for Lunacon, and with John hosted First Saturday meetings. She also made the banner for the NY in ’67 Worldcon bid.

Author and librarian Harold Billings (b.1931) died on November 29. In addition to his work as a librarian, Billings wrote about Arthur Conan Doyle and SF author M.P. Shiel. The first two volumes of a Shiel biography were published, along with selected articles that were part of the final volume.

Author Leslie H. Whitten (b.1928) died on December 2. Whitten published Progeny of the Adder in 1965 and followed up with three more novels. His four books were reprinted in two omnibus volumes in the early 1990s.

Producer Howard Gottfried (b.1923) died on December 8. Best known for producing Network, he also produced the horror film Altered States and the science fiction film Suburban Commando.

Artist Joe Wehrle, Jr. (b.1941) died on December 10. Wehrle worked as an artist for Digest Enthusiast and collected science fiction and fantasy. Other illustrations appeared in Galaxy and If magazine. His story “The Bandemar” appeared in the first Clarion anthology and he published a couple more stories over the years.

Artist Bob Givens (b.1918) died on December 14. Givens worked for Disney beginning in 1937 before moving to Warner Brothers. He drew the model sheet for “A Wild Hare,” which established Bugs Bunny’s appearance. He worked into the 1990s, including She-Ra: Princess of Power and Filmation’s Ghostbusters.

French comics artist Annie Goetzinger died on December 20. Goetzinger began working for French magazines in the 1970s and won awards for her first graphic novel, Casque d’Or.

Astronaut Bruce McCandless II (b.1937) died on December 21. McCandless flew on two space shuttle missions and during his first flight in 1984, he became the first person to do an untethered space walk. On his second mission in 1990, he helped deploy the Hubble Space Telescope.

German comics artist Lona Rietschel died on December 21. Reitschel began working for Mosaic and designed the characters Dig, Dag, and Digedag. When those characters were lost by Mosaic, she helped design their replacements, Abrafaxe. She received the PENG! Prize for Lifetime Achievement in 2013.

Comics artist Victor Llamas died on December 22. Llamas worked as an inker for Top Cow on Darkness and Ascension before he moved on to work for DC and Marvel, inking titles including Batman, Star Wars: Republic, and X-Men.

Comic book artist Jim Baikie (b.1940) died on December 29. Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine.  He worked on television tie-in comics including Star Trek and collaborated with Alan Moore on Skizz.  He worked on Batman and The Spectre and co-created Electric Warrior with Doug Moench and First American with Moore.

Chicago fan Gyu Sup Lee died on December 31.  Lee worked as a guest liaison for Anime Central (ACEN).

Bookseller Fred Bass (b.1928) died on January 3. Bass’s father opened The Strand Bookstore in 1927 and bass began working there in 1941, taking over the store in 1956 after he returned from the Korean War. He moved the store from its original location on Fourth Avenue to its current location. The store is co-owned by Bass’s daughter, Nancy Bass Wyden.

Astronaut John Young (b.1930) died on January 5. Young flew the first Gemini mission with Gus Grissom, flew on Apollo 10, landed on the moon during Apollo 16, and later flew the inaugural flight of the space shuttle Columbia. He is the only man to fly four different classes of spacecraft. He holds the record for the astronaut with the longest active service with NASA: 42 years. With Young’s death, only five moonwalkers survive.

Fan Donald “Dea” Cook (b.1948) died on January 18. Cook was the bid chair for the Atlanta in ‘95 Worldcon bid. Cook received the Rebel Award in 1994 and the Hank Reinhardt Fan Award in 2013.  In 1997, he was the Fan Guest of Honor at Balticon 31.

Author Ursula K. Le Guin (b.1929) died on January 22. Le Guin is the author of the Earthsea cycle and has won the Nebula and Hugo Awards six times each and the World Fantasy Award twice, among many others. She was Guest of Honor at the 1975 Worldcon, Aussiecon 1, and was named a SFWA Grand Master in 2003. Her novels included The Left Hand of Darkness, The Lathe of Heaven, Always Coming Home, and Powers.

Author Jack Ketchum (b.Dallas Mayr, 1946) died on January 24 from cancer. His novels include Joyride, The Lost, and The Girl Next Door. Ketchum received three Bram Stoker Awards and was named a Grand Master by World Horror Con.

Fan David Oberhelman (b.1965) died on January 25. Oberhelman spent several years administering the Mythopoeic Awards and the Mythopoeic Society’s scholarship program.

Minneapolis fan Rob Ihinger (b.1955) died on January 26. Ihinger was active in MinnSTF and worked in various departments for Minicon over the years, including work as a hotel liaison and operations. He was married to author Peg Kerr.

Artist William O’Connor (b.1951) died on February 2. Connor worked on interior illustrations for TSR in the 1990s and produced artwork for other game publishers as well. He wrote instructional art books including Dracopedia and was nominated for a Chesley Award in 2002.

Author David F. Case (b.1937) died on February 3. Case published a handful of short stories and novels in the late 60s and 70s before disappearing from the horror field, only to reappear in the 1980s. His novel Fengriffen was made into the film And Now the Screaming Starts!.

Dave Palter (b.1952) died on February 6. Palter edited the fanzine Apple of Discord and was active in the Toronto fannish scene, attending First Thursday before he left fandom. In the 1970s, he was active in Scientology, but left the movement and became a critic of it in the early 1980s.

Author Bill Crider (b.1941) died on February 12. Crider was best known as a mystery author who wrote several different series, including the Sheriff Dan series, the Carl Burns series, the Sally Good series, etc. he also wrote Westerns and Horror novels. His short story “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” won the 2015 Sidewise Award and he won the Golden Duck Award in 1998 for Mike Gonzo and the UFO Terror.

Author Victor Milán (b.1954) died on February 13. Milán co-wrote the War of Powers novels with Robert E. Vardeman and published his own novels, often using the pseudonyms Alex Archer, Robert Baron, S.L. Hunter, and Richard Austin. He published several BattleTech novels and many novels under the James Axler house name. In 1986, he won a Prometheus Award for his novel Cybernetic Samurai.

Swedish fan Lars-Olov Strandberg (b.1929) died on March 3. Strandberg began attending Swedish SF conventions in the 1950s and served as the treasurer for most of the cons from the 50s through the 2011 Eurocon. He was also a board member of the Swedish Science Fiction Association. Strandberg was instrumental in the creation of the Science Fiction Bookstore in Stockholm. In 2005, he was the Fan Guest of Honour at Interaction, the Worldcon in Glasgow.

French author Daniel Walther (b.1940) died on March 3. Walther’s first novel, Le Corp déballé, was written in 1963.  He received the Grand prix de l’Imaginaire for the anthology Les Soleils noirs d’Arcadie and his novel L’Épouvante. He served as the manager of the Club du libre d’anticipation beginning in 1980.

St. Louis fan Steve Lopata (b.1942) died on March 5.  Lopata worked operations, security, and Medical Response teams at numerous Worldcons over the past 40 years.  Lopata was a long-time attendee of Archon in Collinsville, IL and had published articles in Soldier of Fortune.

Editor and author Peter Nicholls (b.1939) died on March 6 from cancer. Nicholls is perhaps best known as the editor of The Science Fiction Encyclopedia, which won a Hugo Award in 1980 for its first edition. The second and third editions, under the title The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction also earned Nicholls a second and third Hugo Award when they were released. Nicholls also won the Pilgrim Award, Peter McNamara Award, and Eaton Award. From 1974-1978, he was the co-editor of Foundation.

Author Kate Wilhelm (b.1928) died on March 8. Wilhelm began publishing in 1956 with the story “The Pint-Sized Genie” and her first sf novel, The Clone, written with Theodore L. Thomas, was nominated for the Nebula Award. She won the Hugo Award twice, including for her novel Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang and the Nebula three times. She helped establish the SFWA and Clarion Workshop and helped run the early Milford Writers Workshops. Along with husband Damon Knight, she was a Pro Guest of Honor at Noreascon Two and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2003. She received an inaugural Solstice Award in 2009 and in 2016, the awards were renamed the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award in her honor.

Swedish fan Jörgen Peterzén (b.1941) died on March 9.  Peterzén was one of the co-founders of the Swedish Tolkien Society. In the 1960s, he published the fanzine Fregna and was a guest of honor at Nasacon 7 and Upsala SF-Möte VI. He worked as an editor at Askild & Kärnekull and other publishing houses.

Author Mary Rosenblum (b.1952) died on March 11 when the small plane she was flying crashed near Battle Ground, Oregon. Rosenblum won the Compton Crook Award in 1994 for her debut novel, The Drylands and followed up with several other novels, writing mysteries as Mary Freeman, her maiden name. Her short story, “Sacrifice” won the 2009 Sidewise Award for Alternate History.

Physicist Stephen Hawking (b.1942) died on March 14. Hawking was the first to set out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He published the popular book A Brief History of Time and has played himself in episodes of The Big Bang Theory and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Hawking has suffered from ALS and was confined to a wheelchair, using a computer to communicate and speak.

Author Karen Anderson (b.1932) died on March 17. Anderson was married to Poul Anderson, with whom she often collaborated on works such as The King of Ys and The Last Viking, although she also wrote some solo stories. Anderson was active in costuming and is believed to have been the first person to use the term “filk music” in print. Anderson helped co-found the Society for Creative Anachronism.

Author David Bischoff (b.1951) died on March 19. Bischoff’s first novel, The Seeker, was published in 1976. His 1977 story, “Tin Woodman,” written with Dennis R. Bailey, was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story. Other novels included two books in the Bill, the Galactic Hero series, two Dr. Dimension books written with John DeChancie, and several film and television novelizations. He also wrote screenplays for the television series Dinosaucers, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Space Precinct.

Texas fan Earl Cooley III died on March 20. Cooley volunteered at Armadillocon, including maintaining the convention’s website. He was also the SysOp for the SMOF BBS in Austin.

Filker Rennie Levine (b.1954) died on March 21. Levine was active in New York and East Coast filk circles and is known for songs like “FIAWOL (Filking Is A Way Of Life).” In 1998, her song “Ode to the Sci Fi Channel” won first place in the OVFF Songwriting Contest in the TV Theme Songs category.

Animator Fred Crippen (b.1928) died on March 22. Crippen formed Pantomime Studios in 1958 and went on to create the cartoon Roger Ramjet, which aired for 5 seasons.  Crippen later worked on Men in Black: The Series, Yogi’s Space Race, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and other cartoons.  He also taught art at a variety of colleges in southern California.

Scottish author Philip Kerr (b.1956) died on March 23. Writing as P.B. Kerr, he wrote the Children of the Lamp series as well as the novel One Small Step. Kerr also wrote under his own name and several books using the pseudonym Bernard Gunther.

Game Designer Donald Saxman (b.1954) died on March 24. In addition to working for Quality Assurance Management for the International Space Station Life Support System, Saxman was the author of four superhero-based role playing games, including Superhero 2044, the first superhero based RPG.

Illinois fan Al Babcock died on April 1. Babcock ran ChambanaCon with his wife, Sharon, for several years and always worked the relaxacon’s registration desk. He served as ChambanaCon’s toastmaster on several occasions.

 Fan Regina Gottesman (b.1948) died on April 18. Gottesman was a member of the Lunarians and worked on several of the early New York Star Trek conventions.  She produced several media-related fanzines.

 Costumer Deborah Sears (b.1959) died on May 12.  Along with her husband, Greg, she not only participated in masquerades, but also shared her knowledge and expertise at various conventions.

 Belgian author Eddy C. Bertin (b.1944) died on May 21.  Most of his works have only been published in Dutch, but he has had some work published in English and has also translated works from Dutch to English and vice versa. His English translated stories have been collected in The Whispering Horror.  He has published under several pseudonyms, including Edith Brendall, Doriac Greysun, Christiane Varen, and Karla Madonna.

 Author Philip Roth (b.1933) died on May 22. Roth won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel American Pastoral and is well known for his novels Goodbye, Columbus and Portnoy’s Complaint.  His genre writing is limited, but he won the Sidewise Award for his alternate history novel The Plot Against America.

 Astronaut Alan Bean (b.1932) died on May 26.  Bean was the fourth man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 12 mission.  After he left the Astronaut Corps, Bean became a painter, creating works that depicted his time on the moon and using some of his souvenirs from his time in the Apollo program to add texture to his paintings. Many of his works were reproduced in his book Apollo.

 Editor and Author Gardner Dozois (b.1947) died on May 27.  Dozois won fifteen Hugo Awards for his editing and back-to-back Nebula Awards for his short stories “The Peacemaker” and “Morning Child.” He had a long career as an author and was one of the most influential editors the field has seen, publishing Year’s Best anthologies for more than 35 years, serving as the editor of Asimov’s Science Fiction from 1984-2004, and editing or co-editing several original anthologies with Jack Dann, George R.R. Martin, and others. He was the editor Guest of Honor at the Millennium Philcon and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2011 and received the Skylark Award in 2016.

 Fan June Moffatt died on May 31.  Born June Konigsberg, she married Len Moffatt in 1966 and the two were TAFF Winners in 1973.  She was a member of First Fandom, SCIFI, The Petards, and LASFS, serving as President of the last organization.  Moffatt founded Bouchercon and chaired three of them, as well as holding positions on several other southern California conventions.  Along with Len, she co-edited several fanzines and APA-zines. She was a guest of honor at Loscon 8, Bouchercon 16, and Tra-La-La Con. In 1994, she received the Evans-Frehafer Trophy from LASFS.

 Australian Fan Lucy Zinkiewicz died on June 6.  Zinkiewicz published the fanzines Strawberry Filks Forever and ZinkieZine.  She served as the first NAFF (National Australian Fan Fund) delegate.  Zinkiewicz was the editor of issues 36 and 57 of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine.

 Fan Shelby Vick (b.1928) died on June 9.  Vick created the WAW with the Crew in ‘52 fund which brought Walt Willis to the United States, one of the first Fan Funds.  He won the Rebel Award in 2012 and was also the recipient of the Corflu Fifty Fan Fund that same year. Vick has published numerous different fanzines and APAzines over the years, including Embers, Planetary Stories, and Wonderlust.

  Author Christopher Stasheff (b.1944) died on June 10.  Stasheff began publishing with The Wizard in Spite of Himself and continued to write in that series and related series throughout his career.  He edited the shared world anthology series The Crafters and worked on continuations of L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt’s Enchanter series. His novel Warlock Unlocked was nominated for the Balrog Award.

Poet Steve Sneyd (b.1941) died on June 14.  Sneyd not only published his own science fiction poetry but also compiled numerous bibliographies of science fictional poetry and published himself and other authors through his Hilltop Press.  In 2015, he was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Poetry Association.

Artist Steve Ditko (b.1927) died on June 27. Ditko created the look for Spider-Man and many of his classic villains and also created Doctor Strange. After leaving Marvel, Ditko created The Question, Hawk and Dove, and the Creeper. When he returned to Marvel, Ditko created Squirrel Girl in 1992.

Author Harlan Ellison (b.1934) died on June 28. Ellison began his professional career in 1956 with the publication of the short story “Glowworm” in Infinity Science Fiction. Mostly known for his short stories like are “’Repent, Harlequin,!’ Said the Ticktockman,” “Jeffty is Five,” “A Boy and His Dog,” and” “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream,” Ellison also wrote for television and film, writing the Star Trek episode “The City on the Edge of Forever,” among other works. He is noted for editing the anthologies Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions. Ellison contracted stories for a third volume, The Last Dangerous Visions, which has failed to appear to date, although some of the stories have been printed elsewhere. Ellison has won four Nebula Awards and was named a SFWA Grand Master in 2005. He has also won seven Hugo Awards, five Bram Stoker Awards, and a World Fantasy Award among others. He has received a Special Award from the World Science Fiction Society (Worldcon) on three separate occasions and was the Guest of Honor at Iguanacon, the 36th Worldcon, held in 1978 in Phoenix, AZ. He was named a Grandmaster by World Horror Con and received Life Achievement Awards from the International Horror Guild, the Eaton Award, Bram Stoker Award, the Forry Award, and the World Fantasy Awards. In 2011, he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.