Christian Pipe Smokers

Rest in peace brother.

Prayers for his family. He will be missed.

The curmudgeon's curmudgeon. He will be missed.

Thank you for letting us know! This is truly a sad piece of news. Praying for the family in this time of loss.

This is hard news to hear.

I was hoping to make it to Skip's visitation today, perhaps meet up with Will and Joe (Ninja and Pepik). Unfortunately, I must also head to Missouri today, for a family reunion and my Mom's 85th birthday. The Big Storm across the Midwest is not quick enough to keep me in the Upper Midwest.

Skip was a good friend.
He was one of the first to coach me along as a newbie piper in 2008.
I enjoyed hanging out with him at the Chicago Pipe Show every year.
He inspired me to wear kilts for quite a few years.
I took my wife down to Illinois to meet his wife.
He used to knock me on the head and politely straighten me out when I got out of line.

Farewell, Jolly Curmudgeon. Hmphf.

Skip was one day older than me. I reminded him often.

The world is an odd place nowadays. Many of us have 'known' Skip for about 20 years, but I for one, never met him in real life. We stayed close on FB and traded jabs a few times a week up until the end. I invited him to come back to the new and improved CPS but - and I'm sorry to break this to you - he hated this place. I suppose it was mostly because the OG CPS'ers were gone and his curmudgeon act wouldn't let him admit that something new isn't bad just because it's new, but he stood his ground. C'est la vie.

I has a sad.

FredS wrote: 03 Jan 2025, 08:20 Skip was one day older than me. I reminded him often.

The world is an odd place nowadays. Many of us have 'known' Skip for about 20 years, but I for one, never met him in real life. We stayed close on FB and traded jabs a few times a week up until the end. I invited him to come back to the new and improved CPS but - and I'm sorry to break this to you - he hated this place. I suppose it was mostly because the OG CPS'ers were gone and his curmudgeon act wouldn't let him admit that something new isn't bad just because it's new, but he stood his ground. C'est la vie.

He was cajoled into joining the Alt CPS fb group, and I remember when he did he said, "don't make me regret this". I only occasionally drop by there myself, so I'm not sure if he ever posted. I think Pepik and he may have posted early on when DL Jake was still posting there.

Regrettably, I never met Skip in person; just interacted on the internet, exchanged PMs, and various fb comments and "likes". I'm really going to miss seeing him around. Also, btw, I didn't know it until now, but he and my son apparently had the same 11/11 birthdate.

Thoughts and prayers with his family...Rest in Peace

sweetandsour wrote: 31 Dec 2024, 10:51 Wow, NO!! This news will have to sink in. Thanks for the heads up, Will.

Oh my.