Kevin Eaches
"Rusty"
I met Kevin in 1993, while playing an online game called GarouMush. I was new to the World of Pointlessness, and was so uncomfortable with it that I was considering quitting the game. Then I ran into Kevin in the game and we began to talk, about the game, about music, books, other games, and our other interests outside of the mush. Before I knew it, Kevin had become my friend.
Kevin was the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back, if he even suspected you were in trouble. I have several books in my personal library that Kevin had gone out of his way to find, purchase, and send to me, just so I'd be able to know what was in them when we were talking about stuff. Ditto that for filk mix tapes that he made so I'd have samples of the kind of music he loved more than any other.
I wasn't the only person Kevin treated like this, of course. He was naturally friendly and outgoing, and loved to meet new people and make friends. He was devoted to his friends, almost as much as he was devoted to his family. Despite having earned a degree in genetic engineering, he spent the last years of his life working as an insurance claims processor, so he could remain close to his parents, who he would visit whenever he was able.
Every year, he would work on MarCon, the science fiction convention held in Columbus, Ohio, on Memorial Day weekend. He handled filking, panels, and whatever else the Con committee needed, because he loved what he was doing so much, and because he believed in supporting the people involved.
Because we both enjoyed so many things in common, Kevin and I would often swap stories that we were working on. Kevin seemed to prefer editing to actually writing, but it's thanks to his encouragement that I didn't abandon many of the stories that I wrote over the last fifteen years. I remember how, many times, he would keep me going, just by the pleasure he got from reading what I wrote, and the enthusiasm he displayed for seeing where I would go with any particular story I'd shared with him.
Kevin was a true friend, the kind that leaves a great hole when he's gone. I'm going to miss him - a lot. If there's one person in my life who could inspire me to offer personal prayers for his memory, Kevin is that person.
William G. Hartwell
