ASL Bell Tolls

Martin Mayers

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Gentlemen, it is my sad duty to inform you the Joe Arthur has now passed.
We were concerned that no one had heard from him in the last week so I contacted the police who reported they "knew where he was". This gave me some reassurance. Regrettably we heard from his brother today that he had died of a pulmonary embolism brought on by a deep vein thrombosis.
This news arrived half way through the first round at Bounding Fire. It makes it seem so pointless now.
Joe will be much missed from our Friday Night Fight group as well as his polite and cheerful interjections through other games.
His mum died earlier this year so at least they will both be together now.

Goodbye Joe.
How incredibly sad and sudden.
I will miss sparring with him pre-game around all manner of issues relating to dice before inevitably going on to lose against him.
Condolences to all, especially his family. A big loss to our UK ASL-community.
 

daveramsey

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This is really sad news. Joe's pleasant demeanour both over the board and online will be missed. He didn't have an easy life, but he definitely was able to smile about it and he was gracious in victory (I can't tell about in defeat because I could never beat him!)

I did him a small favour last year and he "repaid" me with a tank handbook, and 12 bottles of tapestry monk brewed beer from Belgium, along with the appropriate beer glass to drink them from. It was of course, not required, but he was insistent.

In one of our last games we played together, he was winning and I was ending my final movement phase with "I'm done", and kept asking me "Are you sure you're done?", until I finally figured out I could move my squad that I had thought was locked in melee, out of cc, due to his tank being in motion- which game me a chance of victory. The dice deservedly gave him the win, but it was a memorable act of sportsmanship.

I was surprised he didn't pop in to say 'hi' during our last recording, this week. Now we know why.

He'll be missed.
 

Sparafucil3

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Joe was a kind and gentle soul. I had the pleasure of first meeting him as a member of Friday Night Fights club. We played ASL a couple of time via VASL and he was always a true gentleman. I then attended Heroes and Bounding Fire in Blackpool where I got to meet and play him in person. There was a sadness about Joe. He could find moments of joy but true happiness always seemed to escape him. Perhaps Joe was too empathetic for this world. I will miss chatting with Joe. I will miss spending time even if it was only over the Internet. He always had something interesting to say and a unique take on things. I hope where ever he is, he has at last found happiness and comfort. I am glad I got a chance to meet him. I am better for knowing him. 😢 -- jim
 

Vic Provost

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Gentlemen, it is my sad duty to inform you the Joe Arthur has now passed.
We were concerned that no one had heard from him in the last week so I contacted the police who reported they "knew where he was". This gave me some reassurance. Regrettably we heard from his brother today that he had died of a pulmonary embolism brought on by a deep vein thrombosis.
This news arrived half way through the first round at Bounding Fire. It makes it seem so pointless now.
Joe will be much missed from our Friday Night Fight group as well as his polite and cheerful interjections through other games.
His mum died earlier this year so at least they will both be together now.

Goodbye Joe.
Joe was a longtime subscriber to Dispatches from the Bunker and always was so pleasant to deal with, this is beyond sad and my sympathies to his family and all his friends who will dearly miss him. RIP Joe, roll low in the afterlife, Vic. 🎲🎲
 

kdalton

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This is one of my biggest regrets about stepping away from the community for so long. There are guys I played around for several WOs that are no longer with us. Good guys. Our hobby and our community are lessened by their passing.

Rest In Peace, Joe.
 

L'éléphant

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This is one of my biggest regrets about stepping away from the community for so long. There are guys I played around for several WOs that are no longer with us. Good guys. Our hobby and our community are lessened by their passing.

Rest In Peace, Joe.
Joe was a real friend, a cool guy. He went to the ASL Ring, north of France and it was always a pleasure to meet him in the tourney for all the players..Very sad news.
 

MajorDomo

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Gentlemen, it is my sad duty to inform you the Joe Arthur has now passed.
We were concerned that no one had heard from him in the last week so I contacted the police who reported they "knew where he was". This gave me some reassurance. Regrettably we heard from his brother today that he had died of a pulmonary embolism brought on by a deep vein thrombosis.
This news arrived half way through the first round at Bounding Fire. It makes it seem so pointless now.
Joe will be much missed from our Friday Night Fight group as well as his polite and cheerful interjections through other games.
His mum died earlier this year so at least they will both be together now.

Goodbye Joe.
Joe was a good soul.

Met Joe at a tourney in Blackpool. We played 10 games over the years, always in a nice collegial atmosphere.

Joe was not a fan of CC, calling it a "trip to the casino".

Rest in peace!

Rich
 

Paul_RS

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I just heard about Joe's passing a few hour ago. He was a stalwart member of our Friday night club, very knowledgeable on the rules and had an easy going pleasant demeanor when playing. The first time I spoke to him was during my first Friday Night game. We played Red Horse Recon. I knew within the first 2 turns that I was up against a formidable player. I was always on the backfoot trying to regain any advantage I could, but felt I was always 1 step behind and 1 step away from checkmate. Needless to say, Joe cruised to an easy victory. I never did manage to beat him, but we also had a fun and informative time when playing.
I'm still a bit shocked TBH. I'll miss his easy going style and encyclopedic knowledge of the rulebook.
RIP Joe.
 

buser333

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Gentlemen, it is my sad duty to inform you the Joe Arthur has now passed.
We were concerned that no one had heard from him in the last week so I contacted the police who reported they "knew where he was". This gave me some reassurance. Regrettably we heard from his brother today that he had died of a pulmonary embolism brought on by a deep vein thrombosis.
This news arrived half way through the first round at Bounding Fire. It makes it seem so pointless now.
Joe will be much missed from our Friday Night Fight group as well as his polite and cheerful interjections through other games.
His mum died earlier this year so at least they will both be together now.

Goodbye Joe.
I am saddened and shocked by this news, but happy to see the amount of well-wishes extolled by the many people that Joe's ASL life touched on. Joe and I shared many long gaming sessions together over VASL, and he was a worthy and gracious opponent. He will be truly missed.
 

Actionjick

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I've never met the gentleman, but did read his posts. Condolences to his family, and commiserations to his gaming opponents.
Me either but reading the posts from those who knew him he sounds like a great gamer and true gentleman.

RIP Joe. Your seat at The Great Gaming Table In the Sky seems well deserved.
 
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