Filker Mara Brener (b.1952, Mara Berlin) died on February 27. Brener and her husband, Harry Brener, attended their first convention, LACon II, in 1984. Brener began composing and singing at a young age, but didn’t discover filk until that convention and she and her husband spent the majority of the con in the filk room and their songs were subsequently published in the fanzine Filk Fee-nom-ee-non. Brener was Guest of Honor at Leprecon 30 in 2004 and Contata 2005. In addition to her filk career, she was an artist who worked in oils and stained glass.
British fan Henry Newton (b.1944) died on February 18. Newton was a long-time convention attendee, who had stopped attending several years ago. In the 1980s, he helped found the Warrington Science Fiction group.
Costumer Patti Paczolt (b.1952 Patricia Hochmuth) died on February 17. Paczolt worked in chemical technology and real estate and won multiple Worldcon costuming awards. A long time attendee at CostumeCon, her last convention was CostumeCon 28 in 2010. At various times she was known as Patti Gill and Patti Mercier.
Fan Judy Gerjuoy (b.1958) died on February 28. Gerjuoy, who also went by the name Jaelle of Armida, organized the first Darkover Grand Council Meeting in 1979 to celebrate the writing of Marion Zimmer Bradley, and continued to chair it for several years until her death. She also had an interest in Medieval cookery and compiled a massive annotated bibliography of historical cooking. After getting married, Gerjuoy lived in Finland for several years.
Fan Richard E. Geis (b.1927) died on February 4. Geis published the Hugo Award winning fanzines Science Fiction Review and The Alien Critic. The former won the Hugo in 1969, 1970, 1977, and 1979, the latter in 1974 and 1975. Geis also won the Best Fan Writer Hugo on two occasions. Geis also published fiction, claiming to have been the author of 110 soft-core pornographic novels. Nearly all of Geis’s fannish activity was through his writings, he rarely attended science fiction conventions or club meetings, although in 1960 he was honored with a Fanquet by LASFS and was the Fan Guest of Honor at the first Orycon in 1979.
Fan jan howard finder (b.1939) died on February 26 after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. finder, who was also known by the fannish name The Wombat, was hospitalized for his cancer at Renovation, but had battled back to attend Chicon 7, where he emceed the Masquerade. finder organized the First Conference on Middle-earth in 1969 and made many trips to the sites used in New Zealand by Peter Jackson for the Lord of the Rings films, often giving tours to other fans. He edited the fanzine The Spang Blah and the anthology Alien Encounters, as well as writing the occasional short story. finder co-founded Albacon and chaired the convention in 1996. In 2001, he chaired the SFRA Conference. In 1993, he was the Fan Guest of Honor at ConFrancisco, the 51st Worldcon.
Virginia fan Marilee J. Layman (b.1955) died on February 22. Layman was very active in the Usenet sf groups, particularly rec.arts.sf.composition. Layman was an avid reader and involved in several bookgroups, both in person and on-line. She was also involved in the beading community.
Fan Robert Briggs (b.1930) died on February 5. Briggs was one of the founding members of the Washington Science Fiction Society. He became the first Vice President of the Washington Science Fiction Association when the group changed its name and he went on to chair the first three Disclaves.
Fan Michael W. Waite (b.1936) died on January 1. Waite was a member of FAPA and published Trial and Air. Waite’s letters of comment not only appeared in fanzines, but also in prozines.
British fan Roger Waddington (b.1946) died on July 23, 2012. Waddington had columns, book reviews, articles, and letters published in Matrix and Vector from the 1960s to the 90s.
