Al Campbell RIP

[Marco]

I was sad to not see some mention of the anniversary of Al's passing ( April 28, 2004) . Al's contributions to FAOL played no small part in it's eventual success and certainly deserve an annual honorable mention in his memory. There was a collection of funds to erect a bench ( now situated at the Cleghorn Springs Trout Hatchery) similar to that of JC's bench in Grayling. Al was always available to answer questions and help by phone, e-mail or here on this board. His memory deserves much more.

Mark

[Byron haugh]

Good post, Marco.

[Betty Hiner]

P1010092.jpg Thank you, Marco. Al's bench is beautiful ... and sits really well!

[jcampbell]

I didn't know the gentleman, but read allot about him on this site. Thanks Marco.

[Clay]

A little late, but thanks for the reminder.

[TyroneFly]

Thanks for the reminder Marco.

I found this site back in 2002 doing a Google search on fly tying. Al's tying series was one of the search results. I learned a lot about fly tying from Al. We exchanged many a PMs overs the years. Al embodied the spirit of sharing that was and is Fly Anglers Online.

RIP Al

[Marco]

TF and others (et al) ,
My personal experience with Al was minimal amounting to perhaps three or four e-mails . I WAS however hooked on HIM. His knowledge in a spectrum of disciplines amazed me. I and his best friend Elliott Warshaw aka ILMBABA herein, were to have lunch at Chilli's ( Elliott was manager) in Rapid City SD on our way to Wyoming . We were obviously aware of Al's serious illness and the time he had left and hoped our meeting (of about 3 months hence) would come to pass. Sadly, Al passed away about 3 weeks after we made the date. Although I had never met Al in person, I felt I had lost a very dear and long time friend.
I did visit his grave that year at the Fort Meade cemetery( Al was a USAF veteran) where " we shared some thoughts of what might have been ".
I, as I'm sure many here, miss him .
Also sadly, Al's wife Patty passed away of cancer 2 years later on May 5, 2007 .

Mark

PS: An interesting sidenote: Elliott Warshaw, a "confirmed" Jew converted to Christianity as a result of meeting Al's minister at the funeral. When he saw and heard the "words" spoken at the service, he understood what made Al into the person he was. Elliot took much abuse from his family for his decision to covert but he felt he had "concrete evidence (Al) " that he had made the right choice.
Please note that MY comments regarding Elliot's conversion are a paraphrased version of HIS OWN words from a post he entered here on FAOL shortly after Al's death. My only intent in referencing this is to illustrate just who was Al Campbell and the impact/influence he had on others.