ASL Bell Tolls

[Carln0130]

All I remember is hearing a growling & rumbling that sounded like bitching & cussing coming from the nearby table at ASLOk whenever he was nearby. I didn't know he spoke English. Sounded kinda like my dog Max when he growls at people he doesn't like. RIP Gary

I have several Gary stories also. One of which I recently shared with the guys at the Nor'easter, but without voice, it cannot be done in justice.
In no particular order.

I was setting up a defense at the Albany tournament. Gary would always take the time to play these scenarios and often did so several times. Well, this particular scenario required me to defend two areas of the map, widely spread apart. However, it also allowed me to ignore one if I wanted and just put all my defenses into one.

Gary comes by. Looks at the board. "F&&&ing Nogueira. I played this with a bunch of guys and nobody pulls this but you." He then chuckled and gave me a good natured light slap on the cheek right out of Goodfella's. I laughed till I cried.

Gary had his own name for me.......S.O.B., which he used so often, an unwitting player on GS wondered aloud if it was initials for a proper name.

Finally, the most hilarious of all, which is much better with voice. Gary and I started playing each other in VASL's infancy and played each other frequently. In those days, you did not have voice, you had to type everything out. Gary, like myself, was a type 1 diabetic using insulin. I began to notice that his replies were getting more and more inconsistent and made no sense. I called to check on him and he said "Yeah, my sugar is low", but he didn't sound good. I found the emergency number for his area and having his address, sent an ambulance to his house to check on him. As they were pulling away from Gary's house with Gary all fixed up now, his wife pulls up.

The next week I call Gary and we are talking. In the background his wife yells, with a flawless NY accent, "Hey Curl, thank you for saving Trezza's *ss!" Gary and I both broke up laughing. I will take that memory of Gary, and many more like it, to the grave. He was a good man and a good friend. I miss him terribly.

 

[M.Koch]

Sad to hear that Gary is gone.
I played him once at ASLOK. We only knew each other by email and when we met the first time ftf he greet me with... So, you´re the f***ing SOB from Germany. I liked him immeadiately.
We did some playtest for the Fort Burma pack... I never heard so many swearing in one single game and he had a blast when i gave him the translation into German.
A big loss for the ASL community.

 

[Richard Weiley]

I never heard so many swearing in one single game ...

I think Gary would have been right at home at an Australian tournament.

 

[sdennis]

I was severely bummed all night after my brother alerted me to this last night...

For all of his curmudgeonly and irascible antics he was one of my favorite ASL players. Very glad to have known him as much as I did.

 

[Vic Provost]

RIP Gary Trezza

Just heard from Carl Nogueira that Gary passed away suddenly in March (3/19/22). Here is Carl's message:

Folks,
It is with profound shock and regret that I have to announce the passing of Gary Trezza. Gary apparently passed unexpectedly and suddenly back in March. We all knew Gary as a one-of-a-kind individual. I knew Gary well and regarded him as a good friend. I have no other information unfortunately. That said, there was an obituary for him on an officiating site, that left little doubt that indeed it is the Gary we know.
I sincerely wish I had better news.
Carl Nogueira

Of course we all knew Gary (aka "Chuckles") as he ran the Albany Tourney for years, and was a torch bearer for ASL.

Gary leaves us with many great fun memories. He will be sorely missed. Condolences to his friends and family.

TomView attachment 21776

This is a tough one for me as Gary, Steve Pleva, Joe Leoce, Ron Duenskie and Paul Sidhu all welcomed me with open arms when I first attended the Albany Tourney back when it started. Talk about a bunch of great players and hobby fanatics who also were fun to play or just chum around with. Gary always had some funny thing to say when he stopped by any game I was playing and often had a biting, satirical humor that was perfect for this game and hobby. I'll never forget when I played him and had a HIP 88LL ATG open up on his T-34 rolling by at point blank range. I of course roll a 12 and Gary starts laughing and says those Germans don't know which way to put the round in the breech! Laughs all around, I'll miss him badly. Every loss in this hobby is a big one, for sure and Gary is a big one for sure, Vic.

 

[Chas]

Very sad news about Gary. He and I usually talked every year a few times Nov-Dec. He typically played in a College Bowl Pickem I had and we generally caught up on life in general. When I called him this year the # was no longer in service and he didnt respond to an email which had me wondering if something was going on.

Someone has to come on here and tell the Gary board 9 story.

RIP in brother.

 

[Sean Deller]

Someone has to come on here and tell the Gary board 9 story.

Yes, please! That was absolutely the most hilarious moment in 20+ years of Winter Offensives.

I grew up in Long Island, and every time Gary barked it was like a time capsule from my youth was opened. The hobby is richer from his playtest contributions, and the tournament scene was more enjoyable from his organizational efforts and his larger-than-life persona. He is greatly missed.

Cheers,
Sean

 

[cwillmer]

Gary,

Rest in peace.

I too remember all the Albany events chaired by Gary. He always made it fun, welcoming, and entertaining.

Board 9? What I remember was the raffle. A big cardboard box with a giant ? Lo and behold filled with board 9. I know others can embellish on this.

Charlie

 

[Actionjick]

Gary,

Rest in peace.

I too remember all the Albany events chaired by Gary. He always made it fun, welcoming, and entertaining.

Board 9? What I remember was the raffle. A big cardboard box with a giant ? Lo and behold filled with board 9. I know others can embellish on this.

Charlie

The original Rogue board 9? If so what a prize.

RIP Sir and well done for your contributions to the tournament and event scene.

 

[Houlie]

Wow. Very sad to hear. Gary and I VASLed for a few years on and off back~15 years ago. He was always a gritty player and very entertaining. He would swear at my dice like a drunken sailor. Whether it was horse races, officiating or great sushi places, he was always fun to talk to. I still laugh at this: When I told him I had just gotten back from a family vacation to NY I got railed, "Why da F*** didn't ya call me for a game? You coulda come ovuh and we coulda got some sushi aftuh?!" He was one of a kind. I had heard he retired from ASL a number of years ago and thought, bummer. He was a bright light that made our ASL community rich.

RIP, Gary.

 

[bendizoid]

How about the referee skit at ASLOK.

 

[Tooz]

Very sad as always to hear of Gary's passing. May he rest in peace. The passing of ASL friends is always tough to bear.
Another sad loss is Pat Flory. Pat owned the Citadel Game store in Groton, CT. I first met Pat in 1992 when I worked in Connecticut. Being new to the area and this was before the internet took off I was wondering if there were any ASL players in the area. It turned out that Pat was an avid gamer who loved playing The Russian Campaign and ASL. He loved Red Barricades and Kampfgruppe Peiper. I remember him always declaring: "I am not an ASL player. I am an ASL Campaigner!" He had a great setup where we could keep the maps and game in progress stored in large flat drawers. I spent many fun hours at his store and enjoyed playing along with and against. Because of Pat I met other ASL players in the area and this led to many friendships. We used to gather in the store's unfinished basement and played ASL all day long, well into the night. These are some of my most cherished memories of my time in Connecticut. Carl Nogueira tells me that the Citadel is still in business and they still host game days there under a new owner.
So, two more ASL brothers have passed. May God rest their souls and may we always remember them. Their friendships enriched my life.

 

[Khill]

Gary will be sorely missed. He contributed a lot to the community and was a very colorful character. Played him at Ottawa tourney, first shot activated my sniper. It KIA'ed his best leader and broke the squad with MMG covering a critical area. He turned all kinds of shades of red. I thought he was gonna explode but he kept it together, for the most part. RIP

 

[koffee77]

Gary,

Rest in peace.

I too remember all the Albany events chaired by Gary. He always made it fun, welcoming, and entertaining.

Board 9? What I remember was the raffle. A big cardboard box with a giant ? Lo and behold filled with board 9. I know others can embellish on this.

Charlie

Some folks were using the boards as plates for the pizza that was served up that evening.

 

[von Marwitz]

Some folks were using the boards as plates for the pizza that was served up that evening.

OMG! These heretics! Even a rouge board has its dignity. Well, no... But still!

von Marwitz

 

[Tom Morin]

OMG! These heretics! Even a rouge board has its dignity. Well, no... But still!

von Marwitz

rouge? Are we talking about lipstick?

 

[Perry]

rouge? Are we talking about lipstick?

Phrase used to annoy me, now I relish it.
And the give-away boards were official MMP boards excess from some print run.

 

[Actionjick]

Phrase used to annoy me, now I relish it.
And the give-away boards were official MMP boards excess from some print run.

I really liked some of the rogue scenarios. Series 100 and 200 IIRC.

 

[johnl]

I never met Mr Trezza but from reading the posts here, I wish I had. RIP, sir!

 

[Hutch]

I didn’t know about Pat Flory, so sad. Used to spend a lot of time (and money) in his 1st store (1992ish) when it was on the hill. He had just finished playtesting CdG. RIP Pat.