Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"I'll let you in on a secret: SF Fans never get old. We don't. Oh, sure, we age. We die. But we retain, for all our lives, that sense of wonder that made us say as kids, 'I love these stories about worlds beyond mine, and future times beyond mine; about what's possible, and what's not possible but should be. I. Want. More.' We retain it, or we stop being fans. And that sense of wonder keeps us young. And that sense of wonder also feeds on the hope and enthusiasm of others who have it. Not in any vampiric way (though Marty fancied himself a vampire), but in a way that gives even as it takes, a symbiosis. Two fans together, if all is as it should be, feed each others' level of excitement." -- Steven H. Wilson, 2013-07-22, in the middle of trying to describe Marty Gear, whose memorial service is this afternoon in Savage, Maryland.

From the same page, specifically about Marty:

"My kids lost their grandmother in 2003, and it was devastating. When Marty came into our lives in this way, it was as if they'd gained another Grandfather. And with his passing, it's as if they've lost one.

"And with his passing, I've read on Facebook how many kids in Fandom feel they lost a Grandfather last Thursday night. And that just brings home another amazing thing about Marty: Everyone felt important to him when they were with him. Dozens, hundreds of us felt accepted into his family. That was just Marty.

"Marty paid it forward. In the same way that the great Robert Heinlein advocated repaying those who have helped us and asked nothing in return, he helped others as he had been helped. Marty took that welcome that Doc Smith and the others gave him on his first convention visit, stretched it over the decades, and shared it with us all. Nor did he only reach out to those whom he met personally. [...]"