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I have some terrible news to share with the group. Our dear friend Graham Newlove (Blighty) who I've known and loved as a dear friend for 20+ years passed away in Hospice early this morning at the age of 51. For those of you who knew Graham he was a wonderfully, witty person with a cutting sense of English humour which I just couldn't get enough of. I met Graham when working in Lansing, Michigan back in 1985 and although our lives took us on different journeys across the country we managed to stay in touch all these years. Graham hailed from Hull, UK originally and transplanted to Michigan in 1979. He was brilliant with computers, ever so articulate, one of the most creative individuals I've ever met with a sense of humour that would keep everyone at the pub in stitches.
Graham will be cremated and his ashes sent back to England and scattered in the same park where his mum's ashes were placed. He explicitly stated in his last days that he did not want a memorial service or funeral. We will however be toasting Graham at his local watering hole, Kellys Downtown, in Lansing, MI. Raise your glass and toast our English gent one last time. Rest in peace dear friend. I love you and miss something fierce.  | boba wrote on May 18, '07 OMG! I'd been worried he'd not been online for quite a while. So sorry to hear the news. Please pass on my condolences to his friends and family. He'll be sadly missed :(
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 | Add my condolences, too, please - he was a character online, too. |
 | bugger - I was just talking about Graham to a friend this week - love ya Blighty and shall miss your wit and wisdom and union flags xxxx |
 | My condolences. He will live forever on Multiply! |
 | I'm so sorry. I hope there was no pain. I knew he was in hospital, but I never knew it was so bad.
Farewell, my good friend. I'll miss you always.
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 | His passing came as a complete shock to me. I recevied a phone call Monday from his power of attorney telling me he was in Hospice and that I shouldn't wait too long to get down there. I was making arrangements to fly down and phoned Graham Tuesday morning only to find out he had passed early Tuesday morning. He was not in any pain and his cousin Leslie was with him when he passed.
I know Graham would have appreciated everyones kind words and thoughtful sentiments. He will be sadly missed by many. |
| Thank you for relaying all of this to us. I still can't believe it. I really hoped to meet him one day. I still have the Beetles stamps he asked me to get for him. It's so final and unfair. I'm truly sorry that I can't ever meet him now. And I'm sure gonna miss our verbal sparring we used to enjoy, more than I can ever express :(( |
 | Oh shit - I didn't even know he was sick! I received an sms from him some months ago, apologising for his hibernation. I thought he was just taking some time off from the net. I don't swear often, but now I did. Give my condolences to his family too. I will truly miss him and his wit. I was hoping to drink a pint with him one day, it will have to wait... Please raise a glass from me too.
God Speed Graham, wherever you are... |
 | Very sad. My condolences to his family. |
 | OMG, no wonder I didn't get answers back to my emails :( Man he will be missed big time, he was a wonderfull person with a good sense of humor. I wish the family much strenght. Rest In peace Graham! |
 | mivox wrote on May 18, '07 I also had no idea he was ill ... :-(
I hope he went peacefully, and that wherever he is now they have plenty of good ale available. :-) |
 | Oh no. :( Rest in Peace, Graham. You will be missed. |
 | jvon wrote on May 18, '07 Tip back a pint for me. He was a good guy.
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 | I am both shocked and saddened by this. I will always remember Graham as the witty, entertaining, and fine gent that he was.
Cheers Blighty ……. and Rest in Peace
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 | I keep coming back to read this, it's just so sad. I'm glad his cousin was with him, but I'm sorry you weren't able to see him. I'm sorry for your loss. |
 | Wow. This is a complete shock! I used to hang out at Kelly's back in the early days of Voyager--the late 80s early 90s and then, sadly, lost track of him. I saw the obit in the paper this week and I am so sad. It was a privedge to know him. Rest in peace, friend! |
 | I'm just in shock... Graham was just such a live wire, he was just Graham, a constant I had grown accustomed to always being, well, here.
He made me laugh on so many days when I needed it.
I'll never see another British flag without thinking of Blighty...
Damn. |
 | ...and I'll never hear anyone refer to 'Blighty' without thinking of Graham. |
| I know what you mean. Blighty IS Graham. To me I always referred to him as "Syd" (Sydney was his middle name). I never realized it until just recently that Graham and I never called each other by our real names. He was Syd and I was Fluff. I miss his humour - he was so sharp, so quick witted. His personal mission when we went out pub crawling was to make me laugh to the point of tears. He made me laugh so hard one time I peed my pants a little. Friends that can tickle your funny bone are the best medicine in the world. |
 | I had really missed seeing him around here lately and wondered where he'd gotten to. This really hurts to hear about his passing.
Funny that, the British flag. I was just telling a friend about this guy I know who uses the Union Jack somewhere in all his avatars--that was Blighty. The Union Jack Shoe. The Union Jack Mini, the Union Jack Face.
He will be missed. A toast to Blighty! :-) |
 | Well, Graham will be missed, he was a lovely human being, funny, witty, kind and respectful. He will be missed, I hope he wasn't in any pain for long. I'm so sorry. |
 | I had met Graham Newlove over 20 years ago, when I was a lowly college student at Michigan State. I met him at a local SysOp meeting of FidoNet. Graham ran one of the nodes in Net 159. We soon became friends, and he taught me how to play darts (real nickel-tungsten darts). We used to play for drinks at a place called Moriarty's. We had one hell of a good time every Friday night. After buying quite a few drinks, I convinced him to let me play pool for drinks at a place next door, called Strobers. I was the better 8 ball player, he the better darter. After the bars would close, we used to go to place called Theios for breakfast, and then I'd drive him home. Hanging out with Graham was much better than going to campus parties. He always had very intelligent and thoughtful people about him, and he rose above all of them.
Years passed, I graduated, and moved to Chicago. I always kept in touch via e-mail. We conversed on Orkut, and he switched to Multiply and brought me here. He will be sorely missed. Everytime I pick up darts, or blog, I think of him... It is a sad day for everyone who knew him.
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| I was contacted today by Graham's friends from Kelly's Downtown in Lansing, Michigan. On June 13th there will be a gathering at Kelly's Downtown from 5:00pm to whenever to toast Graham prior to sending his ashes back to England. If any of you are in the area, please stop by and hoist a pint in honour of our old friend. If you're not around, please charge your glasses and remember Graham on June 13th. |
| I will - and I will pass the message on - a toast to Graham the world over! |
 | My sincere condolences. Graham was the reason I came onto Multiply. |
| I will be ready that day, with my guinness . Cheers mate |
| "I'll never see another British flag without thinking of Blighty..."
"...and I'll never hear anyone refer to 'Blighty' without thinking of Graham."
My feelings exactly. So long Blighty. |
| I will raise a beer to both Graham and also my Dad on June 13th. My Dad passed away on that day 17 years ago... |
 | My condolences. He was a great guy. |
| A toast to Graham - who will be missed by all of us! |
 | I am so sorry to hear this. I've been away from Multiply lately, but for some reason in different occasions Graham has come to my mind lately. Maybe it was him saying good-bye? I wasn't nearly as close to him as most of you were, but in the time we had known each other, I enjoyed his humor, his intelligence and his big heart. I almost met him a year ago, when he offered to drive me from Detroit to Columbus. His way of helping out when I was going through a rough time. We decided we would meet anyway another time.
I wish I could have had the privilege to give him a hug. I am late for the toast, but I will think of him. I will sure do. |
| It was a wonderful gathering at Kelly's Downtown on June 13th to honour Graham's memory. Graham's ashes were placed on the bar along with his notebook, his glasses and a candle burning in his memory. One of his favorite drinks (jack and coke) was placed along side his ashes. I was teary eyed all night. Kelly's will never be the same to me without Graham being there. Many of Graham's friends, old and new were there and we shared lovely memories and funny stories about our English gent. I'll post some pics later tonight.
Jan - it was great to speak with you on the phone. I'm sorry we didn't get to see eachother in person. Please drop me an email at jolivier@dxi.ca.
Rest in peace old friend. We will meet again one day. |
 | jenlov wrote on Jun 27, '07, edited on Jun 27, '07 fluff- i wrote an email...says address is incomplete..is there something missing?...jan |
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