Member Passing
 

I have heard through a couple forum members that they had a Facebook notification that Barry Parks, Vandoo here on the forum, passed away the first of March. It was unexpected and the family members that made the post miss him sorely. Barry had a zest for life and thoroughly enjoyed the forum and contributing here. I met Barry a few times and always enjoyed our conversations on our favorite subject. I will miss his posts on clubs and contributions on other subject matter. God Bless you and your family!

My condolences to friends and family.

Sad news
 

Barry has been a mainstay of this community since its inception and he and his extensive freely shared knowledge will be greatly missed.

My condolences also.
A great loss to us all.

A very great loss for the forum, I will miss him!

My condolences to his family.

RIP my friend.
 

This is a tragic blow to our forums, Barry was one of the key figures here, and the most unique person I have ever met. His sage wisdom and astute observations were always boldly emblazoned in capital letters (due to eyesight) and with a demeanor that always reminded me of Will Rogers.
That seemed interestingly appropriate as he lived in Oklahoma. I once had the pleasure of visiting him there, and was overwhelmed at his incredibly eclectic collections.....I used to tease him that his home was the Oklahoma chapter of the Smithsonian.
I recall in talking as we walked through rooms of displays, mentioning the 'deaths head moth' (from "Silence of the Lambs") ...he calmly smiled, and like a museum docent said, this way......opening drawers of butterflies etc. and there one was!!!!

His interests were boundless, and his passion for everything was thrilling to anyone having the pleasure of talking with him. Intrigued by his pseudonym, VANDOO, he explained it was the mysterious language created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the language of the apes in "Tarzan".
It fit him, mysterious, esoteric, intriguing, fascinating, and someone I will never ever forget,
VAYA CON DIOS MY FRIEND .YOU WILL BE MISSED BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN.

So sad news and unexpected to us here.

Rest in peace, Barry.

My deepest condolences to his family.

Albeit I didn't know him in persom, we had some interesting discussions here and I will certainly miss him. I don't even know what to write except that I am very, very sad.

My deepest sympathies go out to his family!

May God rest him in peace!

Rest in Peace Barry
 

Well this is a real shock! My wife and I met Barry and had him to our home when he was here in New Zealand last year. A truly great gentleman and one whose knowledge will be sadly missed on the Forum. Condolences to his Family.
Rest in Peace Barry.
You will be missed.
Bev & Stu

So sorry to hear this. Rest in peace Barry. My best to his Family.
Rick.

I first met Barry when he was assisting another of our departed friends, Jimmy Manteris, at Timonium after Jimmy had a stroke. Barry was a kind guy with a real passion for the unusual in ethnographic weapons collecting. In particular, his posts on Pacific Island clubs are a treasure that will live on in this Forum. I shall miss him.

As many of you would have noticed, Barry always wrote in CAPS. When asked why he was always shouting at people, Barry said he wasn't shouting or hard of hearing, just hard of seeing what he had written! :rolleyes:

RIP our friend.

Ian.

Barry's last post was Feb. 26, just a few days before his passing.

I'm a fairly new member here, and I never met the man, but I've spent some time reading through the archives. Nearly every subject I've ever researched had a bold (and ALL CAPS), insightful, and informative post by him. I'm deeply saddened that I've seen the last one. The man was a treasure.

There's an old African proverb: "The death of an elderly man is like a burning library." I know it from my Somali teacher, but the internet insists it's Ivorian.
Either way it fits here.

My deepest condolences to his family.

Thanks,
Leif

Vandoo will be missed dearly.
Rest In Peace Barry.

My deepest condolences to his family and friends. Barry will be truly missed here on the forum, but never forgotten by any who ever knew him. Rest In Peace my friend.

Robert

Always wonder why he typed in caps and thought it's an eccentric habit of his (for i never think that he was shouting as his comments were always benign and good natured, and now i know better from explanations given by some of you here). Never know him personally but always feel saddened when an active member passed away.My deepest condolences to his family.

very sorry to hear this ,always enjoyed his posts.

MG! sad news indeed, he was a mentor, a respected teacher and source of help and information resource. he will be irreplaceable.

my condolences to his family and friends, the world is lessened by the passing of a giant. he will be greatly missed.

Very sad to hear that another respected and influential member of our community is no longer with us. Tempus Fugit indeed!
My Regards to Family and Friends,
Norman.

So Sad! And he will be greatly missed!

Sincere condolences to all his family and friends.

Condolances
 

As new member, I didn't know him, but I enjoyed his posts and the wonderful items he showed in them. We exchanged several messages and he was very nice to me despite my ignorance. Goodbye and rest in peace.

Bad news !! . Rest in peace Vandoo

My best to his Family.

Carlos

RIP BARRY
 

YES I SAW THE POSTS ON FACEBOOK,BARRY WAS A FRIEND AND HAD COME DOWN TO NZ LAST YEAR ,BUT WAS NOT AWARE I LIVED IN NZ TOO,AFTER HE WENT BACK TO USA HE REALIZED AND SAID HE HOPED HE KNEW AND CAUGHT UP WITH ME,ITS SAD TO KNOW HE IS NO MORE AND WILL BE MISSED
REST IN PEACE BARRY

This friend could be a riot! His joking was insane and I will always remember spending time with him here in Louisville and in Baltimore.

He and his library mind will be truly missed here at this forum.

May he walk in peace and I will keep his family in my prayers.

I'm sorry to hear of this. My sincere condolences to Barry's family.

Rest in peace, Barry. You will be missed.

Nonoy

What a terrible shame!I didn't know him personally, but I always found him to be extremely knowledgeable and always willing to dispense information in a kind and noncondensing way; as a teacher should do with logic and not a ruler!

Sad news indeed. Condolences to his family.

Teodor

Farewell, Barry. You were one of a kind.
Condolences to the Parks family.

Sad news indeed.
My condolence to his family and friends.

Barry was a library, sharing so much information on all kinds of subjects.
And allways kind and informatif in his comments, helping others to learn and to form their own opinions and judgements.

A great loss to the forum and surely a greater loss to the people who knew and loved him.

REST IN PEACE BARRY.

It is always a kind of shock when a forum member passed away!

My deepest condolences to his family and deerest friends, he surely will be missed here...