RIP Sir Belisarius

[Taluntain]

I've only just found out from chev that Brian Ware, aka Sir Belisarius, one of the earliest members and also our treasurer, has lost his battle with cancer on July 16, 2012. I'm devastated that I've only found out about this now since I'm not a regular Facebook user. We've been in touch a few weeks prior to this and I've been concerned when he hasn't responded to my last two e-mails, but I hoped for the best... only to find out the worst.

The funeral service was held earlier today so I'm sad to say that we've missed it - but Bel's legacy continues at http://cancerbware.org/, which I urge you to visit. Cancerbware.org was Brian's idea to fund research for the treatment and eradication of KRAS Mutation Colon Cancer, the disease that ended his life so prematurely.

Managed by a group of Brian's friends, cancerbware is in the process of setting up the non-profit organization, fundraising events & activities, and determining the best organizations to donate the funds to - so my plan is to make a donation as soon as they have the system for it in place. I think Bel would have liked that better than flowers.

Bel has been a huge help to me with SP over the years - he's opened the SP PayPal account originally many years back and handled it to the last that he was able to, as well as most of the site-related payments that we've had to do in the US. Simply put, he was a one of a kind friend that I trusted implicitly and I will miss & remember him for as long as I live.

I'm reposting the obituary here:

Brian Leonard Ware, Esq.

Of Wilmington, DE, formerly of Harrisburg, PA and Newark, DE, passed away peacefully on July 16, 2012, at Cancer Treatment Center of America's Eastern Regional Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA. He was 43 years old, born on May 25, 1969 in Media, PA.

He is survived by his parents, John E. Ware and Katherine A. Ware of Newark, DE; three sisters, Michelle Z. Aldorasi, Lauren E. Ware, and Julianne R. Ware; and nephew Daniel and niece Sophia.

Brian graduated from the University of Delaware in 1992 and was an active member of Delta Tau Delta. He later attended Widener University School of Law. After graduating from Widener in 2002, he went on to serve as a licensed attorney specializing in banking laws and regulations and was admitted as an attorney of the Pennsylvania Bar and the U.S. Supreme Court. Brian served in executive positions for a number of banks and was Manager of Compliance for Accume Partners at the time of his death.

An avid traveler and photographer, Brian took striking photographs of his visits to Russia, Italy, Scotland, and many other countries. He also traveled through thirty states and rated Yellowstone National Park as his favorite destination. Brian was a great supporter of Philadelphia sports teams and had season tickets to the Phillies. He also enjoyed reading and going on walks with his dog, Liberty, in Rockford Park.

As Brian battled cancer, he kept his many friends and family members updated and greatly valued the support and love he received in return.

A service to celebrate Brian's life will be held on Monday, July 23, at 1 pm at the First Unitarian Church of Wilmington at 730 Halstead Rd., Wilmington, DE 19803.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in honor of Brian L. Ware to Cancer Treatment Center of America's Eastern Regional Medical Center in Philadelphia or to the creation of CancerBWare.org at PO Box 2628 Wilmington, DE 19805.

To send online condolences visit
www.mccreryandharra.com

Full link here: http://www.mccreryandharra.com/onlin...s.php?did=1644

You can light a candle or send condolences to the family there. I'll be keeping this thread updated with developments regarding the donations.

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Update:

1. You can now contribute a sum of your own choosing for Sorcerer's Place to forward to the Cancerbware.org NPO set up in Brian's (Sir Bel's) name.

2. Donations collected to the SP PayPal account will be forwarded to Cancerbware.org once they are established.

3. Unless you would prefer your donation to be anonymous, please list your BoM user name in the donation notes so that we know who to thank!

4. Donate via PayPal here. Having a PayPal account is NOT required to donate - you can use your credit/debit card.

If you would like to send money some other way, please contact me via a private message.

If anyone has any questions, please post them in this thread.

Thank you!

[Blackthorne TA]

Such a tragedy. Far too young; and parents should never outlive their kids. It's hard to believe... I'll always remember him as the guy behind the halfling thief on the ALFA NWN servers who'd laugh at my Ranger always getting shot full of arrows... he called me pincushion

[Taluntain]

It's such a shame that Bel never got to the point where he had enough time for playing games again. I've been hoping and praying that he'd recover, but I guess it was just too much. When we chatted last he told me his only regret was not having kids - but considering that he'd be leaving them behind, it wasn't such a bad thing after all. Sad but true.

My biggest regret is never having met him in real life and having a few beers with him. It's hard to believe, but we've known each other online for 12 years - it's crazy how time flies.

[Marceror]

Sad. I can't say that I ever dialogued with him on BoM, but it's very horrible to hear of his passing. I've seen cancer in its final stages, and I know that Sir Bel is resting far more peacefully now than he was before.

[Darion]

I been here long enough to have known him as poster and highly respected member of SP.
Never shared any words with him however.

But it is sad, to say farewell forever, to yet another veteran of this board.

May he rest in peace.

[Dice]

I'm sad to hear of his passing. I remember him from the earlier years here. I didn't talk to him much, but he seemed to be a pretty nice guy. Cancer does not discriminate, but hopefully each case teaches us a little more so we can find a cure eventually.

[olimikrig]

RIP Sir Bel, you will be missed.

[Barmy Army]

Cancer, such an evil disease .

RIP Sir Bel.

[Master of Nuhn]

"The General" lost his battle. This makes me real sad.

Apparently, he's been to Amsterdam (Brian's Life in Photo's on his facebook is real nice!). Would have loved to meet him there and have a beer. He really seemed a great guy!

There are some board members who (after quite some years) still make me feel like some sort of newb around here, in a good way. Sir Bel was one of them. Maybe it's because he was one of SP's pillars when I first arrived here, but I guess I just respected him.

[The Great Snook]

Rest in peace Sir Bel

[Rawgrim]

I didn`t know him, but I recognize the nick very well. I am sorry to hear of his passing. I have seen cancer up close, and its a horrible thing for anyone to go through. R.i.P.

[chevalier]

One thing that must be said is that Sir Bel was always positive, optimistic. It was contagious. At the same time a trickster of sorts, something of a rogue/paladin or the other way round. He had the kind of presence to just be reassuring to everybody who even remotely came into contact with him. I also recall something to the effect that he never made typos in his posts, something that another regular member pointed out but I don't remember who. This is perhaps a small external mark of what a diligent, hard-working person shows from his biography. There is a quotation from him running among his family and friends: "There's still a lot of good in the world. Find it!", which he said a couple of days before his last day. I was not in regular touch with him, we chatted some time, he accepted my friend/connect requests, so I don't want to appear like I'm pretending to be a friend here, but I'm just one of the persons touched by his life and missing him. Hoping for a LAN party in heaven.

For the record, one of his ancestors was a knight at Agincourt or so, as mentioned in an early post somewhere. Figured it was fitting to mention.

[Taluntain]

You should have seen his handwriting - it was of the kind you see on old documents written by professional scribes, very elegant. I was always embarrassed to send him anything in my own writing because it looked like a child's attempt compared to his.

[Blades of Vanatar]

Every once in a while I will come across some of Sir Bel's posts when searching on SP. They are refreshing to read and always make me chuckle.

[Beren]

He always had that odd quirky kind of sense of humor. He will be missed, both here and elsewhere.

[Gaear]

I didn't know him well either but I did think of him as a really good guy - never saw him write a cross word. I didn't even know he had cancer though.

Rest in peace.

[Silvery]

It's funny how most of us have never met but we can all still be affected by this sort of thing.
He was a cracking bloke

[dmc]

He was a really great guy. Very interesting as well. He didn't post much recently, but he still will be missed, I think, by many of us.

[Montresor]

I'm really devastated to learn he's gone. I always enjoyed reading his (all too rare!) posts.

[Taluntain]

I've been looping this one for a while now:



I don't know why, but it just rings so right in memory of Brian.

[reepnorp]

Such a great person, definitely taken from this world far too soon. I didn't even know he was sick but this definitely explains the decrease in activity from him lately.

Truly one of the greats of SP, he will absolutely be missed.

Rest in peace Sir Bel, my thoughts and prayers are with your family.

[ChickenIsGood]

This sucks.

My heart goes out to his loved ones, it is always terrible to lose a friend, but even more so when the body fails out early.

[Arahar]

It's just never fair when one of the best is taken so early. I hope him the best in his next life.

RIP Bel

[Harbourboy]

Rest in peace mate. And thanks for everything you've given us in this place.

[Shoshino]

R.I.P