Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

Joan Packard-Luks was born on March 14, 1946 and passed away on September 4, 2023. Joan was the former President of Women in Toys, Licensing, and Entertainment. Previously, she worked as the Direct...or of Licensing at GUND, where she fostered partnerships with Disney, Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, and others. She also founded her own company, The Serenata Group. Joan was very involved in advocating for the advancement of women through a variety of opportunities in leadership, networking, and education. Joan herself was a mentor to many and gave advice and to support to women everywhere, working diligently toward the goal of a more equitable workplace for women in the industry.Show more

Marilyn Maher passed away on January 2, 2023, in Henderson, Nevada at age 71. Maher work many hats throughout her life, at one point serving as the Executive Director of the YWCA in Freeport, IL, w...here she was recognized for running critical women's programming. Maher also served as the Chief Financial Officer at ACD Distribution in Middleton, Wisconsin. She worked alongside her son, Robert Maher, Jr. Maher enjoyed traveling, visiting many countries across all seven continents with her husband. By air, sea, and land, the pair visited many places, including the Galapagos, Australia, and Antarctica. Marilyn and Robert were married in 1977, and together they had two children. She also had two stepchildren, and the entire family cherished the time when they could all gather in one place.Show more

Kevin Conroy, the voice actor behind DC Comic's Batman, passed away in November of 2022 after a battle with cancer. Conroy was born on November 30, 1955 in Westbury, New York. He attended Julliard ...School's drama division, studying under actor and director John Houseman. His roommate at Julliard School was Robin Williams. After graduating from Julliard in 1978, Conroy toured with Houseman's performing group, The Acting Company, and the following year he went on the national tour of Ira Levin's Deathtrap. In 1980, after playing Jerry Grove in the soap opera Another World, Conroy moved to California to pursue work in television. Rather, he joined the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, where he performed in Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Until 1985, he acted in a number of Broadway productions. In 1985, Conroy transitioned back to television and had roles on Search for Tomorrow, Dynasty, Ohara, Tour of Duty, Cheers, Matlock, and Murphy Brown. Perhaps what Conroy was most famous for was his voice acting roles, namely his starring role in Batman: The Animated Series. He continued to voice Batman in a number of animated spin-offs, theatrical films, direct-to-video films, and video games. As part of DC Comics' 2022 Pride anthology, Conroy wrote "Finding Batman," a story that recounted his life and experiences as a gay man. At the time of his death, Conroy was married to Vaughn C. Williams.Show more

Michael John Lyden passed away on Friday, August 26, 2022 at the age of 80. Lyden began his career in the toy industry as a teenager, working as a stock clerk in the first Toys 'R' Us in Virginia. ...He rose through the ranks at Toys 'R' Us before moving to Mattel, where he lead the development of Hot Wheels as Vice President of Boys Brands in El Segundo, California. Then, at Tyco Toys in New Jersey, he rose to President of Tyco US where he was instrumental in the creation of the Garfield telephone and Tickle Me Elmo. He attended Toy Fair in NYC every year. Lyden had a passion for living: he did the Sunday New York Times Crossword every week (in pen!), visited zoos around the world, enjoyed long evenings at restaurants, discos, and bars, played golf on some of the best courses, and ended every evening with a sambuca and coffee with three beans for good fortune.Show more

Rob Hale, an indie game developer best known as Squid in a Box passed away in August of 2022. Hale's most popular games, Waves and Waves 2, were made free to download on Steam by their partner, CJ,... as per Hale's final wishes. Waves was released in 2011, a twin-stick shooter with a distinctive trance-beat and chiptune soundtrack. Waves 2 came as an Early Access title in 2015, however due to Hale's untimely battle with cancer, will remain incomplete. Prior to indie development, Hale worked as a modder and development on triple A titles.Show more

Liz Goulet DuBois, a product designer for the brand Fred, passed away on Sunday, August 14, 2022. Liz attended Mount Saint Charles Academy and graduated in 1985. After, she earned her bachelor's de...gree in 1989 from RISD. She designed toys and other products, created artwork for books and magazines, and authored and illustrated many children's books. Liz's work was instrumental in launching the Fred brand in 2004. She defined brand language and many of her early designs have become cornerstones of the brand. She was a mentor to young designers and was passionate about the art of creation. Liz was married to Eric DuBois. They had just celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary at the time of her death. She leaves behind three daughters, Audrey, Evelyn, and Millie.Show more

Amparo Serrano, known as Amparín Serrano, was born on October 31, 1965 and passed away on August 12, 2022. She was a Mexican graphic designer, most famous for creating the Distroller brand "Virgencit...a Plis" that caricatured the image of Our Lady Guadalupe, and "Ksi Meritos/Neonate Babies" that featured baby dolls. Serrano founded Distroller in 2004 and it quickly became a success in toys, licensing, and entertainment. Serrano was originally a member of the band Media Luna, with singles "La Luna," "Dime por qué," and "Sueños."Show more

Arthur Houtman, Vertigo Games managing director, passed away on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Houtman was the co-founder of Vanguard Games and Force Field and also the managing director of Vertigo Studi...os Amsterdam. Because of his influence and direction, Vertigo Studios transformed from its indie beginnings to the well-known and solid studio that it is today. Some games Houtman was involved in the production of include Halo: Spartan Assault and Halo: Spartan Strike. Houtman was married to his wife, Bridget, and together they had one son, Arno.Show more

Arnold Thaler was born on March 10, 1923 and passed away at 99 years of age on September 12, 2022. He was the former Chairman of Viewmaster-Ideal, and served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II.... He was deeply involved in The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, The United State Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Moriah Congregation. He enjoyed philanthropy, cultural activities, tennis, the opera, and the Yankees.Show more

Kazuki Takahashi, creator of Yu-Gi-Oh! passed away on July 4, 2022 while trying to save children and adults from drowning. Takahashi was born on October 4, 1961. He made his serial manga debut in ...1986 with Go-Q-Choji Ikkiman, an adaptation of the TV sports anime. He also created Tokio no Tsuma, Tennenshoku Danji Buray, and Drump. In 2015, Takahashi won the Inkpot Award from Comic-Con International for his outstanding contributions to comics. Takahashi loved playing games, including shogi, mahjong, card games, and tabletop role-playing games. Takahashi's Yu-Gi-Oh! manga is one of the most successful in the world, with the trading card game earning a Guinness World Record in 2011 for the "trading card game with the highest number of sales in the world."Show more