Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

Klaus Teuber, the designer of Settlers of Catan passed away on April 1, 2023 at age 70. He was a German dental technician who became a professional board game designer. Klaus designed four games that... won the prestigious Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) award: Barbarossa (1988), Adel Verpflichtet (1990), Drunter und Drüber (1991) and The Settlers of Catan (1995). The latter sold over 40 million copies with many line expansions.Show more

Joan Frances Widmer, known by friends and family as "Bam" (shortened from Bambina, as she was christened by the neighborhood Italian greengrocer) passed away on January 20th at Carolina Meadows, her r...etirement community in Chapel Hill, NC. She was almost halfway through her 96th year. Up to her death, she was amazed and a little unbelieving that she had achieved that great age. She had a full, creative, interesting, and accomplished life and fulfilled her ardent wish to live independently until her death. Born on August 18, 1926, in Chicago to Frances Wynn Heile and Charles Heyfield Pike, she and her younger siblings, Patricia and Dick, grew up in a well-to-do household, doted on by their maternal grandmother who loved to take them to concerts, plays, ballets and museums. Their mother, Frances, was a pioneer in many respects by having attended Smith College and even more so in starting and running her own industrial design company in partnership with her sister, Harriet, in the 1930's. Frances was also an accomplished watercolorist who left Chicago at 61 to move to Los Angeles where she worked as a soft toy designer until her death at 73. Career and creativity were in Bam's genes. Bam's father, Charles, from Newfoundland, and whose history is a bit shrouded in mystery, was a much-awarded athlete at UPenn and a physician. The family's early years during the depression included summers in Wisconsin with Bam's maternal grandmother, aunt and uncle at Oconomowoc Lake, a much beloved memory. Bam attended Purdue University, but left to marry her first husband, Harry Leonard, living for the first two years of their marriage in San Francisco where she worked in a lab at the University of California, San Francisco hospital. When she and Harry returned to Chicago, she joined with her mother to start a small company that designed and produced "Snuffy the Clown" and other baby items. The department store, Carson Pirie Scott, in downtown Chicago displayed a multitude of Snuffy the Clowns in their Christmas window one year. Bam traveled throughout the midwest and east coast selling the company's wares to department stores. She left the company to raise two daughters. During the time at home with her kids she began her career in publishing, putting together, in the basement of their suburban home, a winter ski-goers guide being developed with Harry in the early days of that soon-to-be-popular sport. When her youngest went to school, Bam was off to work at Robert Snyder and Associates, a creative agency in Chicago. There, her professional work in publishing began in earnest. The many relationships she came to have through her work with colleagues, clients and friends; and travel all over the world, were the passions that would give her the greatest sense of personal accomplishment and engagement. Bam always had a keen eye and refined feel for visual arts and design. At Robert Snyder's she worked as an as an art director for an assortment of commercial magazines, including Mainliner Magazine for United Airlines. After her first marriage ended in divorce, she married a publishing colleague, Sheldon Widmer, in 1962 and began a partnership both personal and professional. The two were asked in the late 60's to develop a consumer magazine for Betty Crocker focused on women, and in 1972 they launched the premier issue of SPHERE Magazine, with Bam as editor. Her next decade was an all-consuming life of creative idea-making, content development, design collaboration, and international travel. Primarily about cooking, and with beautiful photography, Sphere also included fashion, travel, crafts and interior design, and food lore and recipes from cultures around the world. There were many internationally themed issues that captured the newly recognized breadth of women's interests around homemaking but also beyond it. Bam was fiercely proud of her work as editor of Sphere (later Cuisine). She was much beloved by the writers, editors, photographers, and recipe developers who worked with her on the magazine. During these years she and Sheldon traveled to many places in Europe and Asia, and to a favorite destination, Haiti, both for the magazine and on their own. They also renovated and beautifully re-designed and furnished several homes on the north side of Chicago where they lived. The two first retired to the community of Fearrington in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Sadly, Sheldon died when Bam was just 61; she never remarried. She made Carolina Meadows her permanent residence in 2013. In retirement Bam relished a busy, fiercely independent life of concert and play-going; twice-yearly extended stays in London for many years; courses for Seniors; dining and movies with dear friends; and tooling around town in her car, often the chauffeur for fellow residents in her community. She followed politics closely and was a lifelong advocate for women's rights. She was on a first name basis with many people who worked in the prepared foods departments of many stores, but especially her beloved Southern Seasons. In these later years she took much joy in her occasional visits with grandchildren and great grandchildren, watching in fascination as they have grown and developed each in their individual way. She delighted in her one bit of modern technology-a picture frame to which her family uploaded photos of their lives, but especially of her great grandchildren who she found endlessly entertaining and endearing. She is survived by her daughters Victoria Leonard (Noah Kahn) and Beth Leonard (Doug Pierson); sister Patricia Fricke; stepsons Skip Widmer and Stephen Widmer; grandchildren Bryn Kahn, Miranda Kahn and Emma Pierson; step grandchildren Yancy and Mina Widmer; and great grandchildren Kaiden, Caeleigh and Natasha.Show more

Holocaust Survivor, Inventor, Artist, Author, Puzzler and so much more. From Bob Fuhrer, "It’s with great sorrow to share that the legendary Ivan Moscovich has passed away just shy of his 97th birth...day. Ivan’s life story is among the most remarkable tales of survival having barely survived Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen and 2 other camps to become an internationally known and acclaimed inventor, puzzler, author and artist.Show more

Chief Creative Officer of collectibles company Kidrobot, Iconic Graphic Artist Behind Album Covers Including the Offpsring’s ‘Americana,’ Dies at 61. Kozik’s death was confirmed by his wife Sh...aron, who did not give a cause of death but said his passing was “unexpected.” In a statement she said: “We are devastated to inform you that Frank Kozik passed away unexpectedly this past Saturday. Frank was a man larger than himself, an icon in each of the genres he worked in. He dramatically changed every industry he was a part of. He was a creative force of nature. We are so beyond lucky and honored to have been part of his journey and he will be missed beyond what words could ever express.” “He loved his wife, his cats, classic muscle cars, mentoring others and Disneyland. His forceful presence will be missed by all who knew him. His legacy, like all great masters, will love on through his art and our memories of him. More info on a memorial service will come soon. For now, we ask you please respect our privacy during this trying time.” Born on Jan. 9, 1962 in Madrid, Spain, Kozik spent his formative years growing up under Spain’s fascist dictator Franco. As a teenager, he moved to the U.S., living first in Sacramento with his father before joining the Air Force, which saw him stationed in Austin. A self-taught artist, in his late teens he began creating artwork for friends’ bands, starting with black and white flyers pasted to telephone poles. He soon moved into concert posters, including large silkscreen prints, for bands such as Pearl Jam, The White Stripes, The Beastie Boys, Green Day, Neil Young and Nirvana. He also directed a number of music videos, among them Soundgarden’s “Pretty Noose.” Kozik eventually started his own record label, Man’s Ruin Records, releasing over 200 singles and albums by artists including the Sex Pistols and Queens of the Stone Age (whose debut single was released through Man’s Ruin Records). Kozik also designed most of the artwork. In the early 1990s Kozik closed his label to focus on other media, including toys and collectibles. He became chief creative office of collectibles company Kidrobot, designing over 500 limited edition figures including his iconic Labbit characters (vinyl smoking rabbits) for which he collaborated with licensees such as D.C. and Marvel to create superhero-inspired versions.Show more

Dina Norlund, born in Oslo, Norway, in 1995, passed away on February 22, 2023, at the age of 27. She is most well known for her graphic novel, The Snowcat Prince, and also regularly posted drawing tut...orials on her Youtube channel with over 175,000 subscribers.Show more

Ian Falconer, born in 1959, has passed away on March 7, 2023. An American author well known for his books about Olivia, the Energetic Piglet, Falconer was a designer of opera sets and cover drawer for... the New York Times throughout his life.Show more

Stan Resnicoff was an accomplished musician, children's book author, and artist. He worked most notably for Mattel and for Educational Insights as an educational software designer. Described by those ...close to him as smart and funny, he will be dearly missed.Show more

Lance Reddick, born June 7, 1982, passed away on March 17, 2023. Well known for his role as Cedric Daniels in The Wire, the actor has also been featured in Fringe, Bosch, the John Wick franchise, and ...Angel has Fallen.Show more

Steven W. Smith has sadly passed away this year due to complications from heart surgery. A notable professional in the public relations field, Smith was most famous for creating the public relations c...ampaign that launched Teddy Ruxpin, an iconic and classic '80s toy.Show more

Dana Weiss, 82, peacefully passed away on February 9, 2023, at home in Rockwall, Texas surrounded by his family. Dana was born to Fred and Marion Weiss on November 24, 1940 in Lakewood, Ohio. After... graduating from Avon Lake High School in 1958, he enlisted in the United Coast Guard and served from 1959 to 1963. He completed basic training at Cape May, New Jersey, and then transferred to Petty Officer's school in Groton, Connecticut. He specialized in electronics and communication technology. He was based in Galveston, Texas during Hurricane Carla in 1961. At the end of his enlistment, he received the CG Good Conduct Medal for exemplary service during his tenure. Following his USCG service, he returned home and began a sales position with Beechnut and Lifesaver. In 1966, he joined Mattel Toys, Inc. serving as Vice-President of domestic sales. He supervised toy sales to over 2,550 Wal-Mart Stores nationwide until his retirement in 2000. Read More...Show more