Member Passing

[RSWORD]

I have heard through a couple forum members that they had a Facebook notification that Barry Parks, Vandoo here on the forum, passed away the first of March. It was unexpected and the family members that made the post miss him sorely. Barry had a zest for life and thoroughly enjoyed the forum and contributing here. I met Barry a few times and always enjoyed our conversations on our favorite subject. I will miss his posts on clubs and contributions on other subject matter. God Bless you and your family!

[ariel]

My condolences to friends and family.

[Lee]

Barry has been a mainstay of this community since its inception and he and his extensive freely shared knowledge will be greatly missed.

[Rick]

My condolences also.
A great loss to us all.

[Sajen]

A very great loss for the forum, I will miss him!

My condolences to his family.

[Jim McDougall]

This is a tragic blow to our forums, Barry was one of the key figures here, and the most unique person I have ever met. His sage wisdom and astute observations were always boldly emblazoned in capital letters (due to eyesight) and with a demeanor that always reminded me of Will Rogers.
That seemed interestingly appropriate as he lived in Oklahoma. I once had the pleasure of visiting him there, and was overwhelmed at his incredibly eclectic collections.....I used to tease him that his home was the Oklahoma chapter of the Smithsonian.
I recall in talking as we walked through rooms of displays, mentioning the 'deaths head moth' (from "Silence of the Lambs") ...he calmly smiled, and like a museum docent said, this way......opening drawers of butterflies etc. and there one was!!!!

His interests were boundless, and his passion for everything was thrilling to anyone having the pleasure of talking with him. Intrigued by his pseudonym, VANDOO, he explained it was the mysterious language created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the language of the apes in "Tarzan".
It fit him, mysterious, esoteric, intriguing, fascinating, and someone I will never ever forget,
VAYA CON DIOS MY FRIEND .YOU WILL BE MISSED BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN.

[fernando]

So sad news and unexpected to us here.

Rest in peace, Barry.

My deepest condolences to his family.

[mariusgmioc]

Albeit I didn't know him in persom, we had some interesting discussions here and I will certainly miss him. I don't even know what to write except that I am very, very sad.

My deepest sympathies go out to his family!

May God rest him in peace!

[kahnjar1]

Well this is a real shock! My wife and I met Barry and had him to our home when he was here in New Zealand last year. A truly great gentleman and one whose knowledge will be sadly missed on the Forum. Condolences to his Family.
Rest in Peace Barry.
You will be missed.
Bev & Stu

[rickystl]

So sorry to hear this. Rest in peace Barry. My best to his Family.
Rick.

[Ian]

I first met Barry when he was assisting another of our departed friends, Jimmy Manteris, at Timonium after Jimmy had a stroke. Barry was a kind guy with a real passion for the unusual in ethnographic weapons collecting. In particular, his posts on Pacific Island clubs are a treasure that will live on in this Forum. I shall miss him.

As many of you would have noticed, Barry always wrote in CAPS. When asked why he was always shouting at people, Barry said he wasn't shouting or hard of hearing, just hard of seeing what he had written! :rolleyes:

RIP our friend.

Ian.

Barry's last post (http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpost.php?p=212252&postcount=2) was Feb. 26, just a few days before his passing.

[Rafngard]

I'm a fairly new member here, and I never met the man, but I've spent some time reading through the archives. Nearly every subject I've ever researched had a bold (and ALL CAPS), insightful, and informative post by him. I'm deeply saddened that I've seen the last one. The man was a treasure.

There's an old African proverb: "The death of an elderly man is like a burning library." I know it from my Somali teacher, but the internet insists it's Ivorian.
Either way it fits here.

My deepest condolences to his family.

Thanks,
Leif

[kino]

Vandoo will be missed dearly.
Rest In Peace Barry.

[Robert]

My deepest condolences to his family and friends. Barry will be truly missed here on the forum, but never forgotten by any who ever knew him. Rest In Peace my friend.

Robert

[Green]

Always wonder why he typed in caps and thought it's an eccentric habit of his (for i never think that he was shouting as his comments were always benign and good natured, and now i know better from explanations given by some of you here). Never know him personally but always feel saddened when an active member passed away.My deepest condolences to his family.

[thinreadline]

very sorry to hear this ,always enjoyed his posts.

[kronckew]

MG! sad news indeed, he was a mentor, a respected teacher and source of help and information resource. he will be irreplaceable.

my condolences to his family and friends, the world is lessened by the passing of a giant. he will be greatly missed.

[Norman McCormick]

Very sad to hear that another respected and influential member of our community is no longer with us. Tempus Fugit indeed!
My Regards to Family and Friends,
Norman.

[Pukka Bundook]

So Sad! And he will be greatly missed!

Sincere condolences to all his family and friends.

[motan]

As new member, I didn't know him, but I enjoyed his posts and the wonderful items he showed in them. We exchanged several messages and he was very nice to me despite my ignorance. Goodbye and rest in peace.

[carlos]

Bad news !! . Rest in peace Vandoo

My best to his Family.

Carlos

[BANDOOK]

Bad news !! . Rest in peace Vandoo

My best to his Family.

Carlos
YES I SAW THE POSTS ON FACEBOOK,BARRY WAS A FRIEND AND HAD COME DOWN TO NZ LAST YEAR ,BUT WAS NOT AWARE I LIVED IN NZ TOO,AFTER HE WENT BACK TO USA HE REALIZED AND SAID HE HOPED HE KNEW AND CAUGHT UP WITH ME,ITS SAD TO KNOW HE IS NO MORE AND WILL BE MISSED
REST IN PEACE BARRY

[Battara]

This friend could be a riot! His joking was insane and I will always remember spending time with him here in Louisville and in Baltimore.

He and his library mind will be truly missed here at this forum.

May he walk in peace and I will keep his family in my prayers.

[colin henshaw]

I'm sorry to hear of this. My sincere condolences to Barry's family.

[Nonoy Tan]

Rest in peace, Barry. You will be missed.

Nonoy

[drac2k]

What a terrible shame!I didn't know him personally, but I always found him to be extremely knowledgeable and always willing to dispense information in a kind and noncondensing way; as a teacher should do with logic and not a ruler!

[TVV]

Sad news indeed. Condolences to his family.

Teodor

[Oliver Pinchot]

Farewell, Barry. You were one of a kind.
Condolences to the Parks family.

[asomotif]

Sad news indeed.
My condolence to his family and friends.

Barry was a library, sharing so much information on all kinds of subjects.
And allways kind and informatif in his comments, helping others to learn and to form their own opinions and judgements.

A great loss to the forum and surely a greater loss to the people who knew and loved him.

REST IN PEACE BARRY.

[Maurice]

It is always a kind of shock when a forum member passed away!

My deepest condolences to his family and deerest friends, he surely will be missed here...

[Gavin Nugent]

Always a sad day when a member of the community passes.
Barry was a very knowledgeable man who loved to share.
I've spent a good deal of time looking for that one image in these pages that I remember him for most, an image I wanted to share of Barry meditating, I just cannot find it...maybe another member can put his or her finger on it?

Here are some other links, one with Barry pictured and one of his extensive collections.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpost.php?p=18063&postcount=1
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1169&highlight=barry

Gavin

[David]

Oh no! I don't know how i missed this post. Barry will be sorely missed around here for sure. His contributions, wit and humor were always appreciated in every thread he participated it.

[Jim McDougall]

Gav, was that the one where he was wearing a fully feathered war headdress?

One had to see the VANDOO museum to truly even fathom the scope of this man! I always told him his place was the Oklahoma branch of the Smithsonian. When we visited him, we were there for many hours and time flew by, never even touching on how much was still unseen.

Few probably realize he was truly an adventurer, and very much like a real life Indiana Jones. He worked roughneck jobs and was on oil rigs, ships and many other fields that took him to faraway and exotic places. Much of what he collected was actually 'in the field', and certainly much of what he learned was firsthand, not just from books.

I always hoped to get the 'bookmobile' back into his neck of the woods, and I'm sad that will now never happen.
Barry, I miss ya!!

[kai]

I also missed this thread...

My sincere condolences to all his relatives and friends!

REST IN PEACE, BARRY, YOUR PERSONALITY WILL BE SORELY MISSED!

Regards,
Kai

[Croccifixio]

Ah only saw this now. I have not posted much though I have read this forum for years. I've been busy and have not caught up. I always saw VANDOO's contributions (always curious about that all caps...) and felt he was always very even and careful with what he said. What a loss to the community. Condolences to his family from a stranger in the Philippines.